Arteta talks about Arsenal’s ambitions

According to the Telegraph, referee Mike Dean is negotiating to hang up the whistle at the end of this season and move to the VAR room to work , ahead of the 2022/23 season. 

Dean is a famously strict referee in England when he owns the record for the most red cards in the tournament (114 times). This 53-year-old referee has been in the Premier League since 2000 and is the longest-serving referee with 553 main starts.

 Mike Dean is the “hardest” referee to draw the red card in the Premier League.

Along with Dean, the Premier League’s referee team will face a big change of blood when other black kings like Atkinson, Kevin Friend, Jon Moss and Graham Scott are all over 50 years old.

The Telegraph report details Dean is in talks to become a full-time VAR operator. Currently only referee Lee Mason, who left the Premier League pitch last season, is on the VAR team full-time.

Dean had a rare interview with the Peter Crouch Podcast in February 2020, in which he talked about the ‘confidence’ and ‘arrogance’ he has as a Premier League referee.

He shared: “There is a little bit of arrogance about me when I step on the pitch, I know there is. But there is also a lot of confidence in myself because I believe in my own abilities.”

“Because of the way I referee, if the ball is coming towards me, I’m not going to jump, instead, I’m going to let it go over my legs. That’s the way it is.”

During his career as a referee, Dean encountered many complaints from fans, especially Arsenal fans when he often made judgments that were detrimental to the Gunners.