Dean is an attention seeker who can't be taken seriously - his claims are nonsense

Mike Dean probably feels like he does not owe the refereeing fraternity anything.

Which is probably a good thing because, yet again, another bizarre outburst has done more damage to officials and the way fans view referees.

Dean’s assertion that he would set himself mini-challenges during matches “as a laugh” has certainly caught the headlines. Appearing on Jamie Vardy’s podcast, Dean says he would try to go “20, 25 minutes without blowing a whistle.”

"I used to do another thing. I used to stand in the centre circle - see how long I could stay in the centre circle before I had to leave.”

Get our comprehensive football coverage, with news, updates, opinions, analysis and everything that matters to you, straight to your inbox.

To get it, it's a quick and easy one-two:

1. Head THIS WAY

The problem here is that, whether they like it or not, the average fan already has a bit of a downer on referees. And the natural inclination is to think all referees are the same.

Obviously they are not. We boast some excellent officials in the Premier League. Honest! But there will be fans up and down the country this weekend, watching the game, looking cynically at the referee and saying to the person next to them: “Yeah, did you see what Mike Dean said?”

That’s the problem. I actually think Dean might be better in the media than he was as a referee. He is entertaining. When he’s on Sky, he buys into the jokes in the studio. He’s got something to say.

But he is clearly looking for headlines and attention. And therefore, can you take him seriously as a serious pundit? I’m not sure you can. You can have him on for comedy value. But let’s not pretend he’s a serious voice of authority. He’s not anymore.

He is just looking to make a splash for attention. What he has said about not whistling for 25 minutes is just utter nonsense. Watch a game this weekend. They blow all the time.

Standing in the centre circle? Don’t be so ridiculous. Former referees - and it is quite a cliquey business - think it’s the most ridiculous and unbelievable thing they’ve ever heard.

It’s nonsense but does quite well for a podcast. Certainly drives interest! Mind you, as a pal pointed out… not even Jamie Vardy thought it was funny.

Dean is a guy who loves the attention. He had so many clashes with Premier League managers. My most memorable was his war of words with Arsene Wenger after a 1-1 draw at West Brom in 2018.

Listen, a referee should be treated with respect. Managers overstep the mark. But it felt obvious that Dean wanted to be the centre of attention. Afterwards, Wenger talked about how hard he and David Dein had fought to make refs professional. And here we are…

Back in August 2022, Dean was on VAR when he did not send referee Anthony Taylor to the screen to review Cristian Romero’s hair pull on Marc Cucurella. It was an obvious mistake. The reasoning? He did not want to cause Taylor more trouble after a feisty game.

Sadly, we can’t take Dean seriously anymore. He is entertaining. But unfortunately the quips do damage to serious officials. And that’s the wider problem.

Sky's Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle includes at least 215 live Premier League clashes across the 2026/27 season, with more than 1,500 games from the EFL and beyond, plus F1, golf and darts.