Dean future in doubt as he misses referees’ summit
The future in the English game of the Premier League’s longest-serving referee Mike Dean, who became a full-time Var last summer, is in major doubt following his absence from this week’s meeting of officials at St George’s Park, having not been assigned a game since February.
It is understood that Dean had agreed with Howard Webb, chief refereeing officer of Professional Game Match Officials Ltd, to miss
the two-day scheduled gathering of referees and assistants. The latest round of appointments for the penultimate weekend of the season was published on Monday, with Dean once more left out.
Dean, 54, was one of two fulltime Vars appointed by PGMOL, the referees and assistants body. The other, Lee Mason, has already been stood down after mistakes during Arsenal’s draw with Brentford. Instead the full-time referees have been rotated from on-pitch duties to Var assignments.
Dean has been assessing referees at games and doing coaching. With him unlikely to be a Var next season, it remains to be seen if PGMOL can find him a role or whether there is a parting of the ways.
It would be the end of a long
association. Dean officiated at 560 Premier League games, going back to September 2000, before his retirement at the end of last season.
PGMOL lost some experienced referees to retirement last summer: Dean, Kevin Friend, Martin Atkinson and Jonathan Moss. All four were given new roles. The head of Var at PGMOL, former referee Neil Swarbrick, who oversaw the introduction of the technology, will retire at the end of the season.
PGMOL declined to comment on Dean’s future.