Dean's comments, made in the podcast, have led to widespread criticism on social media. He revealed that he would sometimes try not to blow the whistle for as long as possible, with some matches going 20-25 minutes without a single foul being called. As a joke, Dean and his assistant referees would challenge each other to see how long they could keep the game going without intervening. Dean even claimed to have successfully stayed in the middle circle for a quarter of an hour during a match, much to the amusement of his colleagues. Voetbal International reports that English media have requested a response from the English referees' association.