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Mike Dean has disclosed that he used to “play games” while officiating Premier League matches.

Dean appeared on ‘Jamie Vardy’s Having A Party’ — the former Leicester City striker’s YouTube show — and said he would sometimes bring off-field games into Premier League matches “as a laugh”.

The former referee had a professional career spanning 28 years and stepped away from on-field refereeing in 2022. He then took on full-time VAR duties during the 2022-23 season.

Dean has continued to be a regular source of controversy, with comments he has made since retirement adding fuel to theories of match-fixing and corruption involving Premier League officials.

“There used to be games we had, as a laugh. We’d say, ‘We’ll kick off now, and see how long we can go without blowing a whistle,’” Dean revealed.

“I’ve done that a few times in the Premier League - before VAR, obviously. Went 20-25 minutes without blowing the whistle, [I would] let it go, let it go, let it go.

“And I used to do another thing - I used to see how long I could stay in the centre circle, before I had to leave. That was just me joking about.

“The lads said, ‘You can’t’ - but I got about 15 minutes once, in one game,” Dean concluded, as Vardy and his co-host laughed.

During his final season as a VAR official, Dean made headlines for not sending referee Anthony Taylor to the monitor during a 2-2 draw between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham’s Cristian Romero pulled the hair of Marc Cucurella, but Dean did not tell Taylor to go to the monitor because, in Dean’s own words, “he is a mate, as well as a referee.”

In the 2024/25 season, shortly after Dean retired from officiating, he again sparked corruption rumours around Premier League referees by rejecting calls for a penalty in the Manchester derby.

Gary Neville felt Manchester United should have been awarded a penalty for a foul on Rasmus Hojlund, but Dean dismissed that view, saying on Sky Sports: “Not in a game like this, mate.”

The former official’s latest remarks on Vardy’s podcast have triggered outrage, with fans questioning what effect Dean’s “games” may have had on actual matches.

“Disgusting, how many games did that affect negatively?” asked one user. “Is this not borderline match fixing?” asked another.

“It’s just not what you want to hear, is it?” said one fan, amid criticism that branded Dean a “clown” and “arrogant.”