Mike Dean quits Premier League role with Saturday night TV appearance touted

Mike Dean is set to be completely absent from Premier League football next season after reaching an agreement to step down from VAR duties. The 55-year-old, who recently held talks with PGMOL chief Howard Webb, drew a line under his lengthy stint as an on-field referee at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.

Dean’s long association with professional football dates back almost three decades, when he began as an assistant referee in the Football League. The Wirral-born veteran has taken charge of more Premier League matches than any other official, with well over 500 games on his CV.

But a switch to VAR at the start of last season did not work out, and Dean went through the final few months of the campaign without being assigned a single match.

According to The Telegraph, Dean recently held talks with Webb before agreeing to step down. Known for his flamboyant nature on the pitch, he is expected to be tapped up by broadcasters and many have tipped him for a future Saturday night television slot.

Webb has shown a ruthless streak since stepping into the top job at the PGMOL, with Dean’s fellow former Premier League referee, Lee Mason, stripped of his VAR duties after making mistakes during Arsenal’s draw with Brentford in February.

In his 560 top-flight matches, Dean has shown more straight red cards, more yellow cards and awarded more penalty kicks than any of his peers.

“The players I’ve refereed over the years… some like the way I approach games, some don’t,” Dean explained to the BBC last year. “When I give players a bit of stick back or a one-liner and they don’t like it, I will apologise five minutes later and say ‘Look, let’s move on’.

“Being in the position I’ve been in for so long, refereeing the best lot of football ever and getting the best seat in the house every week and not having to pay for it – it’s ideal. I love watching football, I’ll miss it terribly.”