Former Premier League referee Mike Dean has revealed he used to play secret "games" while refereeing top-flight matches, including one where he tried to avoid giving a foul for as long as possible.
Speaking on the Jamie Vardy's Having a Party podcast, Dean admitted to playing two different "games," and suggested he had also discussed playing them with other officials.
"There used to be games we used to have, as a laugh we used to say 'Right, we'll kick off now, right. See how long we can go without blowing a whistle,'" he said.
"I've done that a few times in the Premier League, before VAR, obviously. Went 20-25 minutes without blowing a whistle -- 'Let it go, let it go, let it go.'"
Mike Dean admitted to playing secret games while refereeing Premier League matches. Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Dean also revealed he played a second game where he would challenge himself to stay inside the centre circle for as long as possible.
"I used to do another thing in the Premier League," he said. "I used to stand in the centre circle and see how long I could stay in the centre circle before I had to leave. That was just me joking about.
"The lads used to be on the line saying 'You can't.' I said 'I'll try it.'
"You'd just, like, kind of run round, kind of go... But don't come out of it [the centre circle]. I got about 15 minutes once, in one game, without leaving the centre circle."
Dean did not give any examples of specific matches when he played these "games." VAR was introduced in 2019 which means that, if he did play the "games" before its introduction, it would have been under Pro Ref's previous leadership.
Pro Ref declined to comment when contacted by ESPN. ESPN also reached out to the Premier League for comment.
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This is not the first time that Dean, who refereed over 500 Premier League matches over a top-flight career which lasted more than two decades, has been embroiled in controversy.
In 2023, following a game a year before between Chelsea and Tottenham in which he was the VAR, Dean admitted to not alerting referee Anthony Taylor to a missed call because he wanted to spare him "more grief."