'That was just me joking!' - Mike Dean responds to furious backlash after revealing he played 'mini games' during Premier League matches

Former Premier League official Dean has released a statement via social media to defend his record following a wave of condemnation.

The controversy erupted after Dean admitted on the Jamie Vardy's Having a Party podcast that he used to entertain himself during matches with private challenges. These included seeing how long he could go without blowing his whistle and attempting to remain within the centre circle for extended periods of play.

The 56-year-old has now clarified his stance, insisting that his comments were light-hearted in nature and not a reflection of his professional standards.

In a statement posted on his Instagram account, Dean addressed the furious backlash over 'mini games' bombshell that has dominated football headlines.

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. However, if I saw a foul challenge that needed me to take the appropriate action I would give it from the correct position."

The original comments that sparked the row were remarkably candid, as Dean described the ways he and his officiating team would find "a laugh" during intense Premier League encounters.

Speaking on the podcast, he detailed specific games: "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."

Dean didn't stop at the whistle challenges, further explaining how he limited his movement as part of these secret games. He added: "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."