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Former Premier League referee Mike Dean says officials challenged themselves to go without blowing the whistle

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Former Premier League referee Mike Dean said he and his team sometimes treated matches as informal challenges, including going 20 or 25 minutes without blowing the whistle.
  • Former referees Graham Scott and Mark Halsey questioned the story, while Dean said the exercises were intended as entertainment before the introduction of VAR.

Mike Dean spent more than two decades as one of the Premier League’s most recognizable referees. Four years after retiring, he has drawn attention again with an unusual account of how he and his officiating team entertained themselves during matches.

We used to say: ‘Well, we’re starting now, aren’t we? Let’s see how long we can go without blowing the whistle.’

· Mike DeanHe described the challenge he and his officiating team supposedly used during matches.

Speaking on Jamie Vardy’s Having A Party podcast, Dean said they sometimes challenged themselves to avoid blowing the whistle for 20 or 25 minutes. “We used to say: ‘Well, we’re starting now, aren’t we? Let’s see how long we can go without blowing the whistle,’” he said.

Dean said the stunt happened several times in the Premier League, before VAR. “We did it a few times in the Premier League, before VAR, obviously. We went 20 or 25 minutes without blowing the whistle a couple of times. Let it go, let it go, let it go,” he said.

We did it a few times in the Premier League, before VAR, obviously. We went 20 or 25 minutes without blowing the whistle a couple of times. Let it go, let it go, let it go.

· Mike DeanDean said the challenge occurred several times before video assistant refereeing was introduced.

He also described trying to remain inside the center circle for as long as possible. “Another thing I used to do in the Premier League was stay in the center circle and see how long I could remain there before I had to leave,” Dean said. “It was just me joking around. I ran more or less around there, but I tried not to leave. Once I managed about 15 minutes in a match without leaving the center circle.” He said the challenges were simply “to have fun.”

Another thing I used to do in the Premier League was stay in the center circle and see how long I could remain there before I had to leave.

· Mike DeanHe described a second challenge involving his position on the pitch.

The account prompted disbelief in England. The Guardian reported that people at ProRef considered it highly unlikely that a referee could remain in the center circle for so long without anyone noticing. Former Premier League referee Graham Scott called it “palpable nonsense” on TalkSport. Mark Halsey told BBC Sport that the story had caused “a lot of controversy,” said he had never heard of such challenges during his career and argued that the claims harmed referees’ reputation. The report also noted that Dean received some support amid the criticism.

Palpable nonsense.

· Graham ScottThe former Premier League referee directly questioned Dean’s account on TalkSport.
About this summary

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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