Mike Dean, one of the Premier League's most recognisable referees, has been accused of being "in fantasy land" by his former boss Keith Hackett after admitting he sometimes played "minigames" while officiating top-flight matches, including seeing how long he could go without blowing his whistle.
Dean, who took charge of 553 Premier League games during his career, made the admission on Jamie Vardy's podcast Having a Party. "There used to be games we would have for a laugh," he said. "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 added that he also used to test himself by standing in the centre circle. "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."
The comments have caused uproar in football, with fans questioning Dean's integrity and former officials lining up to criticise him.
Hackett accuses Dean of damaging referees' reputation
Keith Hackett, who was a FIFA referee for more than two years and served as Dean's boss at the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) between 2004 and 2010, led the response. Writing on X, Hackett said: "Mike Dean is in fantasy land!! The examination of performances assessors is forensic. When I was boss referee's performances were forensically examined. Dean on my watch could not have done what he said with the monitoring systems in operation."
Hackett said he was "satisfied [Dean] is talking nonsense" and added: "He clearly has damaged his reputation. The fallout does not help current refs."
Graham Scott calls claims 'palpable nonsense'
Graham Scott, who refereed in the Premier League between 2015 and 2025, also dismissed Dean's account and suggested his conduct since retiring has been questionable. "I worked with Mike loads of times - they're not true stories," Scott told talkSPORT. "I wish people wouldn't do this kind of thing. It's the audio equivalent of clickbait, isn't it? It's to try and get people interested and laughing. It's palpable nonsense."
Scott went further, describing a different side to Dean away from the cameras. "I found him quite shy, personally. I found him quite small when he was in a private situation," he said. "What happened on the field, what happened in referee meetings, is he put on a persona that was way too far the other way, as a kind of coping mechanism."
Writing separately in The Athletic, Scott said: "For all his common sense on the field, he has shown precious little of it since retiring. Casual comments that harm former colleagues and employers do not disappear when the following day's newspapers are thrown in the bin, yet hang around forever to cause untold damage to all referees' reputations."
Current referees question Dean's account
Daily Mail Sport understands Dean's comments have also raised eyebrows within the current refereeing community, with senior figures questioning the plausibility of his claims given the lack of detail. According to senior officials at ProRef, Dean did not indicate when the alleged "minigames" took place.
Dean said the incidents happened before VAR was introduced for the 2019-20 season, meaning any such episodes would have occurred under previous refereeing chiefs. Current bosses are insistent that "integrity and impartiality" remain at the heart of referees' decision-making.
Fans react with anger online
A number of supporters took to social media to voice concern at Dean's suggestions. One wrote: "Why the f***'s he admitting to this? 'Oooh look at me I ruined the integrity of top level football matches while getting paid a f***ing fortune for a laugh.' And people wonder why we all think refs are *****."
Dean has also admitted, somewhat dismissively, that he sometimes wanted to be the "centre of attention" while on the pitch. "It's about wanting to be more a part of the game than what I should have been," he said. "If you play an advantage and it works off, you do celebrate it; if you get a decision right you kind of want to celebrate."
"I'd celebrate with the lads in my ear pieces and stuff," Dean added. "If you play an advantage and somebody scores, I think it's great. Love it."
Dean officiated Jamie Vardy several times while the striker played for Leicester City, but fans were unimpressed by his explanation. Another supporter wrote: "'Professional' referee by the way. This is something you would expect from a Sunday league keeper who's earning pittance to get abused. What an absolute f***ing ****. Always behaved like he was more important than the game being played around him."
A different account added: "How about, and I might be going out on a limb here, concentrating on officiating the matches properly rather than playing silly little games with yourself. Mike Dean thinking this makes him sound like a right lad is baffling to me."
