Referee-turned-pundit Mike Dean says he will not have any issue in telling former colleague Simon Hooper how badly he got things wrong by not giving Wolves a penalty in their defeat at Manchester United on Monday. Hooper and VAR officials Michael Salisbury and Richard West have been stood down for this weekend by Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) boss Howard Webb after they collectively failed to award Gary O’Neil’s side what looked like a blatant spot-kick in added time of the 1-0 loss at Old Trafford. Dean quit his role as a dedicated VAR and coach of up and coming officials in the summer in order to move into a role as a pundit on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday. And the 55-year-old, who made his debut on the show last week, has warned his former colleagues that he “won’t be sitting on the fence” when it comes to discussing controversial decisions. “I’ve had a chat with a few of the referees and made it clear that if they make a bad decision, I won’t be sitting on the fence or defending the indefensible and they were OK with that,” he told the PA news agency. “I want to be able to do the job properly and give proper insight. “Equally, I’ll be happy to highlight good decisions as it will be good to give refs some credit.” Dean was an on-field referee for 27 years – 22 of those in the Premier League – and was undoubtedly one of the biggest characters in the game, with his antics and exaggerated facial expressions prime content for online memes. His final year for the PGMOL was spent at Stockley Park as a dedicated VAR and he admits he did not get the same satisfaction. “For me refereeing was the best job in the world, and I felt lucky to be able to be paid for basically doing my hobby,” he said. “But after 27 years of refereeing, and 22 in the Premier League, I felt like I had done my time and wanted to start the next chapter of my life. “It didn’t take long for me to realise that being on VAR wasn’t for me. Having to travel down to London to then be stuck in a room, telling on-field referees whether their decisions were right or wrong didn’t give me the same enjoyment. “I spoke to Howard about this and luckily he supported me in my move away from the role. “I only ever tried to be the best referee I could be. I don’t shy away from the fact I did the job in a different way to some others, but this just came from my enjoyment of it. “I loved my career, seeing Premier League football every weekend from the best seat in the house. I got to referee some amazing games like Man City against QPR when they won the league in the last minute, and make some great mates.” Webb has had a tough induction to the top job at the PGMOL since taking over from Mike Riley in December but has been committed to making his officials accountable for their errors and also improved communication. Dean insists the former World Cup final official is the “best man for the job”. He added: “I have no doubt that Howard is the best man for the job, he has a real presence and is respected in the game. It didn’t take long for me to realise that being on VAR wasn’t for me Mike Dean “He’ll be in contact with Premier League managers this year and will have no problems being up front and honest with them – this communication should only help this season. “Premier League football and decisions in big games will always get attention, and it is the nature of being a referee that you will get criticised when you make mistakes just like players. “The difference for referees is that you will rarely get called out for refereeing a game well, or making good decisions. That’s why I’m not a fan of the idea of refs being interviewed after games, as they’d only want to be spoken to when they’ve made an error.” :: Mike Dean has a new role as the face of the Family & Friends Railcard. Research from Railcard.co.uk reveals that fans opting to travel by train to football matches can save over £50 per adult and child just by using the Family & Friends Railcard. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live England forward Rachel Daly among six World Cup stars shortlisted for PFA award Football rumours: Crystal Palace unhappy with Chelsea over bid for Michael Olise On this day 2009: Usain Bolt breaks WR for World Championship 100m gold in 9.58

Global fund managers are tamping down expectations ahead of China’s Politburo meeting, with many bracing for prolonged gloom

The ooey-gooey goodness that is American cheese is delicious ... but what is it?

Wynonna Judd appeared unstable while moving across the stage during the 57th Annual CMA Awards performance, however, her voice sounded fine

Records show that Mississippi announced financial incentives for a shipbuilder in 2020 days after the president of the shipbuilder’s parent company donated $10,000 to the governor's campaign fund

The Aaron Rodgers trade appeared to be a risky proposition for the New York Jets with the QB's uncertain future, but he offered an intriguing update recently.One of the big talking points when the New York Jets first began trade discussions centered around longtime Green Bay Packers quarter...

The Missouri Supreme Court is ordering the Republican attorney general to stand down and allow an initiative petition to legalize abortion in the state to move forward

It’s Saturday night in Sin City, 9pm local time. One hour until lights out. Walking out of the media centre, across Tuscany Suites and Casino car park and up through the various security checkpoints, you arrive at the highly-coveted, yet strangely downplayed open space that is the Formula 1 paddock. Halfway down, between the garages of Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo, lies the grid access lane: a portal to the chaos forthcoming. There is a chill in the air. A cool 15C temperature which, told all week, is about to play havoc with tyres in the 50 laps ahead. A pause for breath and then the steel-faced American bodyguard gives the go-ahead. On you stroll, pretending you belong here. Welcome to the curiously flummoxing experience that is the F1 pre-race grid. And this is not any old grid. This is Las Vegas: F1’s newest super-venue, where no multi-million-dollar expense has been spared (save a manhole cover or two). In the near-distance are 20 cars all lined up in order, with at least a dozen mechanics and engineers per car. And in the gaps in-between lie everyone else – the VIPs, the executives and the media – relishing or reeling in the madness of it all. Forty minutes until lights out. Effectively, there are two choices as a grid bystander: stay at the front of the pack, scrummaged in the melee to catch a glimpse of the A-listers, or head speedily to the back of the start-finish straight to rise up for air. Your route? By any means necessary. Down the middle, tiptoeing down the sides, most likely a zigzagging of both. Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll trots down alongside his wife to the back where his son Lance starts in 19th. He exchanges a joke with Sky Sports grid walk pioneer Martin Brundle: “Don’t bother me today!” he says. Brundle, sporting a striking dark blue jacket for Vegas’ F1 reincarnation, laughs as he awaits his cue from a producer in his ear. This is his terrain. He may well hate this, but Brundle is now best known for his memorable grid-walk encounters as opposed to his 15-year racing career. It started in 1997, when ITV first gained the rights from the BBC for F1 in the UK and executive producer Neil Dunacson first floated the idea. Before that, attempts to encapsulate the pre-race frivolities to audiences at home were caught up in old-school Formula One Management red-tape. Yet as Bernie Ecclestone took the sport into the 21st century so the broadcasting access expanded – and Martin’s grid walk era was born. He was said to be reluctant at first. Now it is his unorthodox home away from home. A plethora of TV companies have followed suit. Today, we’ll let Martin and the rest of them get on with it. It is a striking juxtaposition of the grid: while the pressure is high on broadcasters to keep viewers entertained with minute-by-minute soundbites, the written media can stand back and absorb this whole… thing. Whatever this is. Mulling around, with no real purpose other than the process of mulling around. Looking at the grandstands to the side, ticket-holding F1 fans record and capture every moment and you think to yourself in the real, morally just world, they’re probably more deserving of this spot than you. Nonetheless, on you go. Engineers sit in the cockpit, toying with the complex intricacies of these 220mph machines, revving the engines so brashly it is hard to hear yourself speak. It is a baffling mish-mash of car-staring, celebrity-glancing and photograph-taking. “Portrait or landscape?” I ask one VIP couple, who request a photo in front of Daniel Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri. “Let’s do both” comes the response. Those “very important people” are signified with a pink pass dangling around their neck. But the real celebs are simply identifiable by the hordes of people around them, people desperate for that picture which will deliver hundreds upon thousands of likes on Instagram. They come in all shapes and sizes: DJ Steve Aoki, model Paris Hilton, LIV rebel golfer Ian Poulter. And, towering menacingly over them all, seven-foot-plus NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal. Fifteen minutes until lights out. Stumbling towards the front, a gap opens up around the outside of Charles Leclerc’s pole-sitting Ferrari, before it’s blocked off again. Instead, head down, you attempt to carve your own racing line through the chaos down the middle and bang: you’re in the shot of Brundle’s conversation with one star or another. Quick, act natural: hurry on through. As is procedure, the home national anthem of the Star-Spangled Banner rings out. A loud horn then blares indicating a quickening of proceedings. Walking back into midfield again, you saunter past FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Is there any occasion he does not miss? Today I feel… Formula 1. Bumping into recent interviewee Willy T Ribbs – “howdy partner” – is the last brief interaction. Any conversation on the grid is usually short-lived but now, 10 minutes until lights out, time’s up. FIA personnel rush the lot of you away, herding the cattle to the exit-door. The process now is a delicate balancing act: walk slowly enough to take in every last second yet quick enough to avoid an ear-clipping from the racing bouncers. Mechanics frantically push tyre trolleys through the crowds back to the garages; one Williams staffer swears under his breath. Las Vegas 2023 is a far cry from the tranquillity of yesteryear at Budapest and Spa-Francorchamps. Eventually the grid is cleared and, quick as a flash, it's over. You can breathe. The drivers can breathe. Brief respite before the action out on track. Sharing the spotlight with the stars of yesterday and tomorrow is entertaining. A privilege. A taste of a different world, even if it is as a supporting act loitering in the background. Now though, the food chain is restored. The unparalleled uniqueness and flashiness of the Formula 1 grid is perhaps unmatched in world sport. For half an hour you walk with the stars, real and fake, and then return to normality. But after a build-up saturated in speed and splendour, lights out is finally imminent. You’ve had your time: back to the laptop and coffee machine you go. Read More Christian Horner suggests Las Vegas Grand Prix solution to ‘brutal’ schedule Las Vegas Grand Prix dazzles on debut with usual dose of Max Verstappen reality How Formula 1 cracked America Christian Horner suggests Las Vegas Grand Prix solution to ‘brutal’ schedule ‘It happens’: F1 fail to apologise or issue refunds to Las Vegas fans F1 2023 official calendar: All 23 Grand Prix this year

Nick Sirianni was amped up in the tunnel after the Eagles beat the Chiefs.

Elon Musk’s X said it scrubbed or labeled tens of thousands of posts including “illegal” content since the

A prosecutor at the trial of actor Danny Masterson says he drugged women so he could rape them, then used his prominence in the Church of Scientology to avoid consequences

A solid candidate for weirdest series of the year, "I'm a Virgo" represents an outlandish concept from writer-director Boots Riley ("Sorry to Bother You"), contemplating how the world would respond to a 13-foot-tall young Black man. As metaphorically intriguing as that sounds -- and indeed, is at the start -- the first season ultimately feels a bit too scattered and chaotic to match the stature of its premise.