Mike Dean has admitted he would play secret mini-games while refereeing Premier League matches in a mystifying revelation that has outraged fans.

Dean has not refereed since retiring in 2022 after a 22-year officiating career, during which he took charge of 553 top-flight games.

While one of the most recognisable in his field, the 58-year-old was also a notably controversial figure for his unique manner of refereeing, with on-pitch gags and his self-admitted “arrogance” sometimes seeing him end up under the spotlight.

Pundit Garth Crooks famously blasted Dean as “petulant schoolteacher” in a now widely-shared clip on BBC’s Final Score in 2015, saying: “He wants to be the star too often. It’s really getting on my nerves because he’s spoiling great games. It’s not about you, Mike, it’s about the games.”

And now, Dean has found himself on the end of a torrent of criticism after saying he would set himself side-quests during matches, such as waiting as long as possible to blow his whistle.

Speaking on Jamie Vardy’s Having a Party podcast, he said: “There used to be games that we used to have, as a laugh, we used to say, ‘Right, we’ll kick off now, right? See how long we can go without blowing a whistle.’

“Done that a few times in the Premier, before VAR obviously. Went 20–25 minutes without blowing a whistle a few times. Let it go, let it go, let it go.

“I used to do another thing 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. The lads used to be on the line saying ‘you can’t’. I said ‘I’ll try it’. I just used to run around but don’t come out of it. Got about 15 minutes once in one game, without leaving the centre circle.”

This has sparked uproar on social media, with supporters blasting Dean’s actions as “unprofessional” and “disgusting”, while also calling into question his integrity.

English refereeing governing body Pro Ref, formerly known as PGMOL, has been contacted for comment.

Dean suggests the incidents came in a pre-VAR era, which was introduced fully in 2019, which would indicate the refereeing body was under previous leadership.

VVS Laxman to travel with India for Asian games

Former India batter and Director of Cricket at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, VVS Laxman, is set to travel with the Indian men’s team to Japan and will take charge as head coach in the absence of Gautam Gambhir for the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya later this month.Gautam Gambhir will remain with the senior side for India’s home ODI series against the West Indies. The first ODI is scheduled to be played on September 27.Laxman will be assisted by former India spinner Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Subhadeep Ghosh, according to the list of coaches released by the Sports Ministry. The development was earlier reported by TimesofIndia.com in July.Laxman has previous Asian Games experience, having coached the Indian men’s team at the 2023 edition in Hangzhou, China, where India won the gold medal.

India to defend Men’s and Women’s Asian Games cricket titles

The cricket competition at the Asian Games will begin on September 24, with India scheduled to play its opening men’s match on September 28. India will defend its men’s T20 title under captain Shreyas Iyer, with teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also part of the squad. The men’s team will face the second-placed side from Group A, which comprises Afghanistan, Japan and Nepal.The Indian women’s team will also enter the tournament as defending champions and will be led by Harmanpreet Kaur. The women’s side will enter the competition at the quarterfinal stage and face hosts Japan. Amol Muzumdar will continue as the head coach of the women’s team, with bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi and fielding coach Munish Bali completing his support staff.

Indian cricket teams for Asian Games 2026

Indian men’s team: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.Indian women’s team: Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Gunalan Kamalini, Bharti Fulmali, Sree Charani, Renuka Thakur, Kranti Gaud, Arundhati Reddy, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav, Nandani Sharma.

The Italian Grand Prix has been declared a heat-hazard race as high temperatures continue in the country following the summer heatwave.

A heat hazard is an official designation for an event where it is forecasted that temperatures will be more than 31C at some point during the race on Sunday.

The ambient temperatures around Monza, north-east of Milan, are expected to be in the mid-30C region all weekend.

They peaked at 36C on Wednesday afternoon near Milan’s Linate airport.

The ruling means drivers can use a system that flows cooled liquid, such as glycol, through a system of pipes in a fireproof top worn under their overalls.

The cooling kit is not mandatory, but any driver who chooses not to use it has to carry 5kg of ballast in their car to ensure they do not have a competitive advantage.

Carlos Queiroz has been reappointed as head coach of Ghana’s men’s national team.

The 73-year-old, who had two spells as assistant manager at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, took charge of the Black Stars in April and led the side to the last 32 at this year’s Fifa World Cup, where they were beaten 1-0 by Colombia.

Queiroz appeared to announce his own departure on social media shortly after that defeat, but the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has decided to re-engage him for another spell in charge following internal discussions.

The GFA has not announced the length of his new deal but said he will prepare the team for “a successful new phase on the international stage”.

“The GFA believes Queiroz’s extensive international experience, technical expertise and knowledge of the Black Stars position him strongly to lead the team into this next chapter,” a statement added.

Queiroz has previously led Iran, Portugal and Egypt at major tournaments and has had stints in charge of South Africa, Colombia and Qatar.

Further details on his mandate will be announced by the GFA in due course.

Queiroz will begin his second spell in charge of the West Africans with qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which begin later this month.

The Black Stars are yet to announce the dates and venues for their first two fixtures in Group C, where they have been drawn alongside Ivory Coast, The Gambia and Somalia.

French president Emmanuel Macron reacted sharply to a man’s arrest for an alleged attempt to kidnap striker Kylian Mbappe, terming the Real Madrid man a national treasure.

Mbappe, 27, is coming off a prolific 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign, winning the Golden Boot with 10 goals and four assists in eight games, with Didier Deschamps’ side finishing fourth.

With a brace in the 6-4 third-place playoff defeat to England, the Los Blancos striker (22 goals) became the World Cup’s most prolific marksman, going past Argentina’s now retired attacker Lionel Messi.

On Wednesday (September 2), Le Parisien reported the arrest of a man who was planning to kidnap 26 high-profile targets, including Mbappe, with details of the targets’ addresses discovered on two seized mobile phones.

Reacting to the alleged plot to kidnap Mbappe, Macron said (as per TF1 via Madrid Xtra):

“Attempt to KIDNAP Kylian Mbappé? NO ONE WILL TOUCH KYLIAN. He has worn the France jersey. He is a NATIONAL TREASURE.”

The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner has started the new season strongly for Madrid, scoring four times in three games, including a hat-trick. Kylian Mbappe was also among the scorers as Jose Mourinho’s side blanked Malaga 4-0 in La Liga at home at the weekend.

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho tips Kylian Mbappe to win Ballon d’Or

New Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho – who’s back at the Santiago Bernabeu helm for a second stint after 13 years – has backed striker Kylian Mbappe to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or.

Mbappe is coming off a strong 2025-26 campaign for Los Blancos, striking 42 times across competitions and also providing six assists in 44 games. However, he didn’t win a major title, with Los Blancos finishing second in La Liga, behind Barcelona, and losing to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.

The Frenchman also shone at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, becoming the first player to win multiple Golden Boot titles.

“You cannot give the Ballon d’Or to a player simply because he won the Champions League or the World Cup,” said Mourinho (as per Guardian). “The Ballon d’Or should go to one of those players who, when they retire, will be missed for ever.

“If we want to reward the Champions League, then give it to Luis Enrique. For the Spanish national team, give it to [Luis] De la Fuente. The best player in the world is something else, and he is neither at PSG nor in the Spain team.”

He said with reference to Kylian Mbappe:

“The best players in the world, there are two, three or four of them, and we know who they are: they’re here. For me, there is one who, individually, made history this summer.”

Mbappe is coming off successive Pichichi honours even though the La Liga title eluded him on both occasions.