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.
“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.
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
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