Now Mike Dean’s former boss weighs into ‘minigames’ row – claiming controversial ex-referee is in ‘fantasy land’ as he accuses him of damaging reputation of Premier League officials
Mike Dean’s former boss insists the controversial referee would not have been able to play the ‘minigames’ he claims to have done while officiating.
Dean, 58, who retired from refereeing in 2023 after over 20 years of officiating at the highest level in English football, admitted to playing a game where he would see how long he could go without blowing his whistle during Premier League matches.
The ex-official also revealed that he would try and stay in the centre circle for as long as he could during some games.
Keith Hackett, Dean’s former boss at Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) between 2004 and 2010, though, has insisted his former employee would not have got away with any games had he tried them.
Hackett wrote on X: ‘Mike Dean is in fantasy land!! The examination of performances assessors is forensic. When I was boss referee’s performances were forensically examined.
Mike Dean’s former refereeing boss Keith Hackett (pictured) has suggested there is no way the controversial ex-referee could have got away with minigames
Dean (pictured) admitted to sometimes trying to see how long he could go without blowing his whistle in a game
‘Dean on my watch could not have done what he said with the monitoring systems in operation.’
Hackett added he was ‘satisfied (Dean) is talking nonsense’ and said: ‘He clearly has damaged his reputation. The fallout does not help current refs.’
Daily Mail Sport understands Dean’s comments have raised eyebrows within the refereeing community, with senior figures questioning the plausibility of his claim given the lack of detail.
‘There used to be games we would have for a laugh,’ Dean said on Jamie Vardy’s Having a Party podcast. ‘It would kick-off, right; see how long we could go without blowing a whistle.
‘I done that a few times in the Premier League, before VAR, obviously. Went 20, 25 minutes without blowing the whistle.’
Dean continued: ‘I used to do another one in the Premier League, I used to stand in the centre circle and see how long I could stay in the centre circle before I had to leave. That was just me joking about. Got about 15 minutes once, in one game.’
Refereeing is currently overseen by Pro Ref – the new name for PGMOL.
Another former referee, Graham Scott, wrote in The Athletic: ‘I am supremely confident that neither story is true, and that he has embellished both out of all recognition.’