MIKE DEAN has revealed that he used to play controversial “games” while refereeing Premier League matches.
The former Prem ref said he tried to go as long as he could without blowing his whistle, in the pre-VAR era.
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The 58-year-old hung up his whistle at the end of the 2021-22 campaign before retiring for good the following year following a season as a VAR official.
Dean has since embarked on a media career and is now a regular on Soccer Saturday.
During an appearance on Jamie Vardy’s podcast, Dean admitted that he used to try to amuse himself during matches.
He said: “There used to be games we’d have, as a laugh.
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“We used to say ‘we’ll kick off now, right, see how long we can go without blowing a whistle’.
“I done that a few times in the Premier League, before VAR obviously. Went 20, 25 minutes without blowing a whistle.
“Few times… let it go, let it go, let it go.”
Dean also claimed that in some games he tried not to leave the centre circle.
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He added: “I used to do another thing, in the Premier League, I used to stand in the centre circle, see how long I could stay in the centre circle, before I had to leave.
“That was just me, joking about. The lads that used to be on the line would say ‘you can’t’.
“I got about 15 minutes once, in one game.”
Dean is a passionate Tranmere fan and loves to follow his beloved Rovers.
Quizzed by Vardy if he gives refs abuse while at games, Dean admitted: “All the time, yeah.
“I think you do. As much when I go and watch Tranmere, home and away, it’s hard not to switch off because you’ve done it for 25 years, to not watch what the referee’s doing.
“My daughter stands with me sometimes and I’ll say ‘f***ing hell that should have been a red’ and my daughter says ‘dad, have a day off, just have a day off and enjoy the game’.”
Dean went on to add: “If the referee’s f***ed up, he’s f***ed up – so he’s gonna get it.”