The future of Mike Dean as a Premier League VAR official is in serious doubt. The former referee retired from his on-pitch duties at the end of the last season and transitioned to working in the review booth. However, the Daily Mail has revealed that Dean has not been appointed as a VAR official in nearly two months. He last worked an English match on February 11th, when Leicester City beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-1.

Premier League officials regularly criticized

Although Dean did not make any major mistakes in that particular game, VAR officials found themselves in hot water on the day. Arsenal played Brentford on the same day in north London. VAR official Lee Mason somehow failed to recognize that Christian Norgaard was offside for Brentford’s lone goal. The Bees midfielder was clearly in an offside position leading up to Ivan Toney’s game-tying goal. The match finished level at 1-1.

On the same day, VAR John Brooks applied incorrect lines to his monitor when checking for another potential offside. Brooks was in the booth for Brighton’s visit to Crystal Palace. The official wrongly ruled out a goal for the Seagulls that would have ultimately won the match. Mason departed his position as VAR six days later, while Brooks was essentially suspended.

Along with Mason, Neil Swarbrick is also leaving his role as Premier League’s lead VAR. Now, it also seems as if Dean could join the duo in retirement. Howard Webb, who was recently appointed chief refereeing officer for Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), is clearly making changes to the system.

Mike Dean has made VAR mistakes throughout current season

While Dean was not exactly at fault during the infamous day in February, he has made a plethora of mistakes in the booth this season. The former Premier League referee failed to send off Tottenham’s Cristian Romero after a violent hair pull on Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella in August. He then missed a red card tackle by Bournemouth’s Jefferson Lerma in October. Dean also wrongly awarded Fulham a penalty against Newcastle in January.

After transitioning to the VAR booth, Dean was given a monthly column in the Daily Mail. However, he has not posted anything for the news outlet since his last match in February.

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