Former Premier League referee Mike Dean says he did not intend to "undermine the integrity of refereeing" after claiming that he used to play mini-games to amuse himself during matches.
Dean had told Jamie Vardy's podcast that he would try to go as long as possible without blowing his whistle, or stay standing in the centre circle.
"We used to say, 'we'll kick off now. Right, see how long we can go without blowing a whistle'," Dean said.
"I've done that a few times in the Premier League, before VAR obviously - went 20, 25 minutes without blowing a whistle."
The 58-year-old has come in for considerable criticism for his comments with another former Premier League referee, Mark Halsey, telling BBC Sport that it had added extra pressure on officials today.
#league #without #used
Dean had told Jamie Vardy's podcast that he would try to go as long as possible without blowing his whistle, or stay standing in the centre circle.
"We used to say, 'we'll kick off now. Right, see how long we can go without blowing a whistle'," Dean said.
"I've done that a few times in the Premier League, before VAR obviously - went 20, 25 minutes without blowing a whistle."
The 58-year-old has come in for considerable criticism for his comments with another former Premier League referee, Mark Halsey, telling BBC Sport that it had added extra pressure on officials today.
#league #without #used
14 days ago
