Scandal in England: Renowned Referee Admits Turning Elite Matches into a Personal Game for Amusement

He set similar goals for himself and his colleagues on the pitch.

"I did it a few times in the Premier League, of course, before VAR – I went 20-25 minutes without blowing the whistle. I also did something else. I stood in the center circle – I was testing how long I could stay there before I had to leave. Once, I stayed there for about 15 minutes," he stated.

Mark Halsey, who officiated in England from 1999 to 2013, told the BBC that Dean's comments damaged the reputation of all referees. His current and former colleagues consider the claims unfounded, even stretching back to the pre-VAR era, before 2019.

This isn't the first time Dean has been embroiled in controversy due to his media statements. When he served as a Video Assistant Referee during Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Tottenham in August 2022, he failed to send the head referee to the monitor to issue a red card to Cristian Romero.

The Spurs defender should have been penalized for pulling Marc Cucurella's hair. After retiring, Dean said in an interview that he didn't intervene because he wanted to spare referee Anthony Taylor another difficult decision, also because Taylor is his friend.

Dean enjoyed a 28-year career as a professional referee. He completely left football in 2023 after also serving on the VAR team. The now 58-year-old Englishman began his officiating career in amateur football and reached the prestigious Premier League in 2000. He refereed the 2008 FA Cup Final and the 2011 League Cup Final.

Halsey doubted the veracity of Dean's anecdotes. "It's caused so much controversy, and in all my years as a professional referee, I never heard about these matches. If Mike was doing it, it was of his own volition. We need to know in which and how many games he officiated like that. Now it questions the integrity of every referee," he expressed.

He added that he spoke with other referees who said, "they hadn't heard about it either."

"It's simply impossible to go five minutes, let alone 20 minutes, without blowing for a free-kick." Refereeing bosses consider Dean a member of the old school, from a different era when the organization might not have been as professional and progressive as it is today.