Mike Dean, a former Premier League referee, has faced widespread criticism after admitting that he and fellow officials played “secret games” during matches.
Dean retired from on-field duty after 22 years in the top flight in 2022 but revealed in Jamie Vardy’s podcast that the referees used to test each other on how long they could get through an entire Premier League game before stopping.
“There used to be games that we used to have, as a laugh,” Dean said, “and see how long we can go without blowing a whistle.
“I know from that 20 to 25 minutes I probably had in one game when it went without blowing a whistle and let that… so that was the kind of game that we had.”
Another game was mentioned where the referee was tested on how long they could stay in the center circle.
Dean claims to have been successful at this for 15 minutes, when one official ran around doing his job with the referee remaining stationary for that length of time.
These revelations have been attacked. Former Premier League player, Gabriel Agbonlahor described him as a “prat,” and added: ” you’re not funny Mike Dean, you’re playing on and it is a foul,” adding “you’re throwing yourself under the bus”.
During 22 years as a referee, Dean officiated 553 Premier League games, and in recent years, had received particular criticism in regards to his officiating during the 2022 encounter involving Cristian Romero’s hair pull on Marc Cucurella.
