I won’t sit on the fence – Mike Dean ready to criticise referees in new role

Referee-turned-pundit Mike Dean says he will not have any issue in telling former colleague Simon Hooper how badly he got things wrong by not giving Wolves a penalty in their defeat at Manchester United on Monday. Hooper and VAR officials Michael Salisbury and Richard West have been stood down for this weekend by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) boss Howard Webb after they collectively failed to award Gary O’Neil’s side what looked like a blatant spot-kick in added time of the 1-0 loss at Old Trafford. Dean quit his role as a dedicated VAR and coach of up and coming officials in the summer in order to move into a role as a pundit on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday. And the 55-year-old, who made his debut on the show last week, has warned his former colleagues that he ‘won’t be sitting on the fence’ when it comes to discussing controversial decisions. ‘I’ve had a chat with a few of the referees and made it clear that if they make a bad decision, I won’t be sitting on the fence or defending the indefensible and they were OK with that,’ he told the PA news agency. ‘I want to be able to do the job properly and give proper insight. ‘Equally, I’ll be happy to highlight good decisions as it will be good to give refs some credit.’ Dean was an on-field referee for 27 years – 22 of those in the Premier League – and was undoubtedly one of the biggest characters in the game, with his antics and exaggerated facial expressions prime content for online memes. His final year for the PGMOL was spent at Stockley Park as a dedicated VAR and he admits he did not get the same satisfaction. ‘For me refereeing was the best job in the world, and I felt lucky to be able to be paid for basically doing my hobby,’ he said. ‘But after 27 years of refereeing, and 22 in the Premier League, I felt like I had done my time and wanted to start the next chapter of my life. ‘It didn’t take long for me to realise that being on VAR wasn’t for me. Having to travel down to London to then be stuck in a room, telling on-field referees whether their decisions were right or wrong didn’t give me the same enjoyment. ‘I spoke to Howard about this and luckily he supported me in my move away from the role. ‘I only ever tried to be the best referee I could be. I don’t shy away from the fact I did the job in a different way to some others, but this just came from my enjoyment of it. ‘I loved my career, seeing Premier League football every weekend from the best seat in the house. I got to referee some amazing games like Man City against QPR when they won the league in the last minute, and make some great mates.’ Webb has had a tough induction to the top job at the PGMOL since taking over from Mike Riley in December but has been committed to making his officials accountable for their errors and also improved communication. Dean insists the former World Cup final official is the ‘best man for the job’. He added: ‘I have no doubt that Howard is the best man for the job, he has a real presence and is respected in the game. It didn’t take long for me to realise that being on VAR wasn’t for me ‘He’ll be in contact with Premier League managers this year and will have no problems being up front and honest with them – this communication should only help this season. ‘Premier League football and decisions in big games will always get attention, and it is the nature of being a referee that you will get criticised when you make mistakes just like players. ‘The difference for referees is that you will rarely get called out for refereeing a game well, or making good decisions. That’s why I’m not a fan of the idea of refs being interviewed after games, as they’d only want to be spoken to when they’ve made an error.’ :: Mike Dean has a new role as the face of the Family & Friends Railcard. Research from Railcard.co.uk reveals that fans opting to travel by train to football matches can save over £50 per adult and child just by using the Family & Friends Railcard.