Mike Dean confirms fans’ worst VAR fears in fresh revelation about Premier League refs

Mike Dean has lifted the lid on how Premier League referees feel about VAR, a system which has been in use since the start of the 2019-20 season and caused furious debate on a weekly basis

Mike Dean has revealed all on a podcast (

Image: Up Front)

Mike Dean has admitted that Premier League referees feel pressured to overturn their original decisions when sent to the pitch-side monitor by VAR.

It comes after the now-retired referee admitted to failing to change a VAR decision in order to save his “mate” and fellow official Antony Taylor from receiving “any more grief” during Chelsea and Tottenham ‘s dramatic 2-2 draw last year. Dean, 55, retired from on-field refereeing at the end of the 2021-22 season but continued to work as a dedicated VAR official.

The Wirral-born official decided to step down from his role in July and is no longer working in football professionally. Since his decision to quit, Dean has made a series of media appearances and his latest interview, confirmed fans’ worst fears about VAR.

Supporters often claim that once a referee is sent to review his original decision by the VAR team at Stockley Park, they’re all but guaranteed to change their minds, facing pressure from the crowd and their colleagues. The 55-year-old noted an incident involving Southampton defender Jan Bednarek during the Saints’ 9-0 defeat to Manchester United in February 2021.

After Dean consulted the pitch-side monitor, he showed Polish centre-back Bednarek a red card for a foul on Anthony Martial which he now says was “completely wrong”. The decision was overturned the very next day.

Shedding light on the pressures of being sent to the monitor, Dean told Simon Jordan’s Up Front podcast : “I’ve probably been over to the screen five or six times and for at least two of them, I could have stuck with my initial decision.

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Mike Dean admits that referees feel pressured to change their decisions thanks to VAR (

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Clive Rose/Getty Images)

“Straight away, Manchester United versus Southampton comes to mind as I went to the screen for something and I sent a player off, which was completely wrong, but because you have gone to the screen, nine times out of 10 you are expected to change your decision.

“When I was [a referee], 99 times out of 100 you would change your decision. I think that will change because if you made a decision on the pitch and you made the correct call, when you’re walking over to the screen, you’re thinking to yourself, ‘Why am I being sent here? I know what I’ve seen’.

“The more you stick with your on-field decision, the more credibility you get from spectators, managers, and players. Also, it may stop VAR from sending a referee over to the screen every single time something happens. Have they got to go over every time? In my opinion, they haven’t.”

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His comments have made headlines and sparked debate on social media, with his revelation about protecting Taylor sending fans into fury. “I missed the stupid hair pull at Chelsea versus Tottenham which was pathetic from my point of view,” Dean revealed. “I didn’t want to send Anthony up because he is a mate as well as a referee and I didn’t want any more grief than he already had.”

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