[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news-detail-82":3},{"success":4,"data":5,"error":10},true,[6],{"id":7,"title":8,"content":9,"titleTh":10,"contentTh":10,"readingMinutes":11,"coverImage":12,"source":13,"sourceUrl":14,"authorName":10,"isPublished":4,"publishedAt":15,"comments":16,"createdAt":17,"updatedAt":18},82,"Dean says he always applied laws - but which matches did he play games in?","\u003Cfigure>\u003Cimg src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F943\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F8fcb\u002Flive\u002F89d956a0-a878-11f1-824a-0fc4c5d895ae.jpg\" alt=\"English referee Mike Dean gestures during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Watford\" width=\"943\" height=\"530\">\u003Cfigcaption>Image caption, Mike Dean enjoyed a 28-year career as a professional official, stepping down from on-field officiating in 2022\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\u003Cp>Former Premier League referee Mike Dean says he did not intend to "undermine the integrity of refereeing" after claiming that he used to play mini-games to amuse himself during matches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dean had told Jamie Vardy's podcast that he would try to go as long as possible without blowing his whistle, or stay standing in the centre circle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>"We used to say, 'we'll kick off now. Right, see how long we can go without blowing a whistle'," Dean said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>"I've done that a few times in the Premier League, before VAR obviously - went 20, 25 minutes without blowing a whistle."\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The 58-year-old has come in for considerable criticism for his comments with another former Premier League referee, Mark Halsey, telling BBC Sport that it had added extra pressure on officials today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dean posted a statement on his Instagram story on Friday where he did not retract his claim, but sought to explain the context.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>"Throughout my 25 years as a professional referee, I have always applied the Laws of the Game to the best of my ability," Dean wrote.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>"My approach as a referee was always to allow the game to flow and whenever possible I preferred to apply a high threshold for contact which the players liked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>"However, if I saw a foul challenge that needed me to take the appropriate action I would give it from the correct position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>"At no stage was it my intention to question, criticise or undermine the integrity of refereeing in this country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>"I have always respected the profession and the responsibility that comes with being a referee."\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But is there any evidence that Dean did in fact play these games?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Could Dean really have played the mini-games?\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Halsey said it would be "impossible" to hold the whistle for just a few minutes, let alone more than 20.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So BBC Sport looked at the Premier League games officiated by Dean from 2008-09 until 2018-19, when the video assistant referee was introduced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The focus was on 214 games that were 0-0 after 15 minutes, meaning there would be no need for a whistle for a kick off after a goal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Are there any games which might provide evidence that Dean was playing around?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only four such examples could be found, with no game reaching 20 minutes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The longest was 18 minutes 20 seconds for a game involved Crystal Palace and Stoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The evidence did back up Dean's claim to have "a high threshold", with no real evidence of obviously missed free-kicks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Wigan 1-4 Sunderland, January 2012\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cfigure>\u003Cimg src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F921\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002Fad0e\u002Flive\u002F90ae1400-a87a-11f1-824a-0fc4c5d895ae.png\" alt=\"Referee Mike Dean plays advantage on a potential Sunderland free-kick\" width=\"921\" height=\"518\">\u003Cfigcaption>Image caption, Dean could have awarded a free-kick to Sunderland after 11 minutes but chose to play advantage\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\u003Cp>Plenty of goals in this game, but Sunderland did not take the lead until deep into first-half stoppage time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, plenty of time for Dean to hold his whistle?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The game was 13 minutes 39 seconds old before the referee first needed to use the whistle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ball had gone out of play for a throw, and it looked like a Sunderland player was going to try to continue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be fair, not much had happened before that which warranted a whistle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Sunderland player was brought down on 11 minutes 21 seconds, which was definitely a foul, and Dean played an advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a valid decision, but many officials may have stopped the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>QPR 1-3 Southampton, November 2012\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Another game which was uneventful with no foul or offside in the opening changes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The match was 16 minutes 42 seconds old when Alejandro Faurlin was fouled and won a free-kick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But would this match even count?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dean did blow the whistle at six minutes 25 seconds because a throw-in was not taken in the right place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Would this count as a breaker for Dean's little game?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>73 goals from dropping deep - we ask Kane to break down how he did it\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moyes lives with disappointment after deadline day\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several players wanted Fernandez updates - Maresca\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Crystal Palace 2-1 Stoke, November 2017\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cfigure>\u003Cimg src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F933\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002Fbb12\u002Flive\u002F473aa4c0-a87d-11f1-824a-0fc4c5d895ae.png\" alt=\"Mike Dean does not given a free-kick when Stoke City's Xherdan Shaqiri goes down\" width=\"933\" height=\"525\">\u003Cfigcaption>Image caption, Dean had the chance to blow his whistle after eight minutes but allowed play to continue\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\u003Cp>This might be the best example of Dean allowing the game to flow and not blowing his whistle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was 18 minutes 20 seconds in before he gave a free-kick for a foul on Stoke City's Ramadan Sobhi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was an incident on eight mins when he could have given a free-kick to Xherdan Shaqiri.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But other than that there was no case for a missed foul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Crystal Palace 5-0 Leicester, April 2018\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Dean finally blew his whistle at Selhurst Park after 16 minutes 3 seconds, awarding a free-kick to Hamza Choudhury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is a fair way into the match again, but not close of his claim to have go 20-25 minutes into a game without stopping it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the referee blew the whistle on three minutes eight seconds to indicate a corner had been awarded. So it is difficult to say this one really counts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Get news, insight and fan views on your Premier League team\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cfigure>\u003Cimg src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F3840\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F91b6\u002Flive\u002F4a573810-8e3b-11f0-9cf6-cbf3e73ce2b9.jpg\" alt=\"A graphic of Premier League players from every team in the division in 2025-26 season, with the Premier League trophy in front of them.\" width=\"3840\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\u003Cp>All your football quizzes in one place\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cfigure>\u003Cimg src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F1920\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F4240\u002Flive\u002Fb321cc40-4f50-11f0-a466-d54f65b60deb.png\" alt=\"Quiz logo\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\">\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\u003Cp>Premier League index\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Premier League table\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Premier League fixtures\u003C\u002Fp>",null,5,"https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fbranded_sport\u002F1200\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002F8fcb\u002Flive\u002F89d956a0-a878-11f1-824a-0fc4c5d895ae.jpg","bbc","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fsport\u002Ffootball\u002Farticles\u002Fczjzn84wn9wo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss","2026-09-04T16:30:52Z",[],"2026-09-04T16:46:53.060515Z","2026-09-04T16:47:15.746081Z"]