After his surprising comments about his time as a referee, former Premier League official Mike Dean has responded on social media
Mike Dean has released a statement on social media after his comments about playing some mischievous games while refereeing Premier League matches angered the football world.
Dean, 58, enraged many in the game during his appearance on Jamie Vardy’s podcast. He claimed to play some “secret games” while overseeing fixtures, including seeing how long he could stand within the centre-circle without stepping out and going as long as possible without blowing his whistle for a foul.
He has since been slated by former Premier League refereeing colleague Mark Halsey, who even suggested many of Dean’s matches should be investigated. After his comments provoked a huge backlash, Dean has take to social media and issued a lengthy statement.
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He said: “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.
“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.”
While appearing on the Jamie Vardy’s Having a Party podcast, Dean said: “There used to be games that 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.’ Done that a few times in the Premier, before VAR obviously. Went 20–25 minutes without blowing a whistle a few times. Let it go, let it go, let it go.
“I used to do another thing in the Premier League. 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’. I just used to run around but don’t come out of it. Got about 15 minutes once in one game, without leaving the centre circle.”
When asked about his former colleague’s claims, Halsey was in disbelief, telling BBC Sport: “All my years as a professional referee, I have to say I’ve never heard of these games. Never.
“And I have to say that I have never, ever thought about playing any sort of game, going out to referee. Because they’re massive games, you’ve got the fans, you’ve got the players, you’ve got the managers, the delegates, the coaches.
“So I’m astounded. If Mike has played these games, then he’s done that on his own accord. And if he has, then I think we need to know what games he’s done them in?
“How many games he’s done them in? And it brings into question the integrity of every official.”
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