Former referee Mike Dean controversially claimed he used to play “mini games” while officiating matches – and footage from an old Manchester United fixture raises some very uncomfortable questions
There are few things more likely to send football fans into a conspiracy theory spiral than a referee admitting he used to play games with himself during Premier League matches – and Mike Dean has now given them plenty to work with.
The former Premier League referee caused a storm this week after appearing on Jamie Vardy’s Having a Party podcast and revealing that he and fellow officials would set themselves little challenges while refereeing.
One was seeing how long they could stay in the centre circle. Another was seeing how long they could go without blowing the whistle.
Dean claimed he had managed to go 20 to 25 minutes without blowing his whistle “a few times” during his top-flight career, adding that it was something they did “for a laugh.” Unsurprisingly, though, his comments weren’t particularly well received by football fans, many of whom have accused Dean of compromising the integrity of matches.
To investigate, MEN went back and watched the full footage of one particular Premier League match – and it’s difficult not to raise an eyebrow. The game in question was West Brom’s 1-0 victory over Manchester United at The Hawthorns on March 6, 2016.
It was hardly an obscure game in Dean’s career. United were downed by Salomon Rondon’s goal, Juan Mata was sent off before half time, and Louis van Gaal’s side suffered a damaging defeat in their pursuit of Champions League football.
It was also a game in which Dean did something rather unusual. He didn’t blow his whistle once during the opening 19 minutes.
That, in itself, is not evidence of wrongdoing. Referees are not required to blow their whistles a certain number of times during a match. Games can flow, players can stay on their feet, and officials can quite reasonably allow contact that falls below their threshold for a foul.
And, importantly, none of the incidents in those opening 19 minutes can reasonably be described as an outrageous, stonewall foul that Dean inexplicably ignored. But there were several moments when you would ordinarily expect a Premier League referee to intervene.
There were around half a dozen challenges or incidents, which, while hardly career-defining refereeing blunders, looked like the sort of infringements that would normally result in a free kick. But Dean waved play on. Again. And again. And again.
There was another particularly odd incident involving Anthony Martial and Craig Dawson. Martial clattered into the back of the West Brom defender, but with the ball falling to his team-mate Stephane Sessegnon, Dean signalled for advantage.
That advantage, however, was short-lived. Sessegnon was immediately dispossessed, yet instead of pulling play back for the foul on Dawson, Dean simply waved play on.
It was another moment where, having chosen not to blow his whistle, the referee appeared content to let the game continue regardless of what happened next.
On the stroke of 19 minutes, Dean finally blew for a foul. It was unavoidable, since Daley Blind had raised a boot close to Saido Berahino’s face. In fairness to the official, it was the first stone wall foul of the game – but what followed was a little bizarre.
Having swallowed his whistle for a quarter of the match, he suddenly started blowing it with wild, frantic regularity, penalising players for the most innocuous, softest offences imaginable. This does not prove he was playing his alleged “mini game,” but it is an awfully uncomfortable coincidence.
What happened next was equally eyebrow-raising. Juan Mata, not exactly known for his aggressive streak, was sent off. First, the Spaniard was booked on 23 minutes for preventing a quickly-taken free kick, before being shown a second yellow just two minutes later for a mistimed challenge.
Neither decision looked particularly controversial when viewed in isolation. The first booking was justified, with Mata deliberately stopping West Brom from restarting play quickly, while the second challenge was reckless enough to warrant a second yellow.
Yet the red card became another part of the story because it came just minutes after Dean had finally started blowing his whistle.
And that is precisely why this match is worth revisiting now. Not because it proves that Dean cheated. It doesn’t. Not because every decision he made in the opening 19 minutes was wrong. It wasn’t. And certainly not because Manchester United were somehow robbed of victory by a referee determined to set himself a personal record. There is no evidence for that.
What the footage does show is a referee who went an unusually long time without awarding a single free kick – followed by a marked increase in whistle-blowing once he finally did.
After his comments this week went viral, Dean attempted to draw a line under the controversy. In a statement posted on Instagram, he insisted that throughout his 25-year career, he had always applied the Laws of the Game to the best of his ability.
He explained that his refereeing philosophy was to allow matches to flow and operate with a high threshold for contact – something he said players liked. And he made clear that whenever he saw a foul that required action, he would give it.
“At no stage was it my intention to question, criticise or undermine the integrity of refereeing in this country,” the 58-year-old wrote. “I have always respected the profession and the responsibility that comes with being a referee.”
Perhaps the simplest explanation is also the most innocent one. Dean was joking. He was trying to entertain Vardy and his audience, embellishing an old refereeing anecdote and never allowing a personal challenge to influence his decisions on the pitch.
That would certainly explain why some people who know him believe he was simply playing to the room. But there is an obvious problem with that defence.
Dean didn’t merely say referees joked about how long they could go without blowing their whistles. He said he did it himself in Premier League matches, and claimed to have gone 20 to 25 minutes without blowing on several occasions.
Now one of those occasions appears to have been found. Nineteen minutes. Manchester United. Half a dozen challenges that might ordinarily have prompted a whistle. Then, suddenly, the whistle starts going.
Maybe it’s a coincidence. Maybe Dean was having a laugh. Maybe his famously high threshold for contact simply meant the opening 19 minutes were exactly what he says they were: a game allowed to flow.
But if Dean really was telling the truth about his little refereeing games, this is exactly the sort of footage you would expect people to go searching for. And having watched it back, it certainly does not make his original claim look any less extraordinary.
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