MIKE DEAN has broken his silence on his own claims that he played ‘games’ while officiating Premier League matches.
The former referee, 58, made the sensational claims earlier this week during an appearance on Jamie Vardy’s podcast.
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He said that during his professional days as a pre-VAR official, he would take part in challenges, such as seeing how long he could go without having to blow his whistle.
Now he has reaffirmed that he “always applied the Laws of the Game” accurately, regardless of any games he might have played.
In a statement to his Instagram account, he wrote: “Throughout my 25 years as a professional referee, I have always applied the laws of the game to the best of my ability.
“My approach as a referee was always to allow the game to flow and whenever possible I preferred to apply a high threshold for contact which the players liked.
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“However, if I saw a foul challenge that needed me to take the appropriate action I would give it from the correct position.
“At no stage was it my intention to question, criticise or undermine the integrity of refereeing in this country.
“I have always respected the profession and the responsibility that comes with being a referee.”
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Dean’s original claims revealed multiple different mini games the official said he would play, and he even boasted that he once made it as long as 25 minutes without blowing his whistle.
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He told The Vardy Party Podcast: “There used to be games we’d have, as a laugh.
“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.”
He also referenced another game in which he attempted to remain in the centre circle for as long as possible.
He said: “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.”
The bombshell claims caused uproar among supporters and clubs, who reportedly began scouring pre-VAR clashes for any evidence of the antics in question.
But SunSport understands the reaction from officiating chiefs at Pro Ref was immediately one of deep scepticism.
Since hanging up the whistle, Dean has embarked on a career in the media, and is a regular fixture on Soccer Saturday.
And some former refs seemed to feel he had leant too far towards his new life in showbiz with the comments.
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SunSport’s Whistleblower, Dean’s former colleague Mark Halsey, dismissed the boasts – which referred back to the pre-VAR era – as “nonsense” and accused the former ref of being on an “ego trip”.
Another ex-Prem ref, Graham Scott, described Dean’s claims as “dispiriting clickbait”.