Mike Dean: The referees arranged unusual challenges among themselves

Mike Dean admitted that during his work in the English Premier League, referees sometimes invented unusual challenges for themselves. The former referee told about this in the Jamie Vardy podcast. One such competition was to determine how long the referee could go without blowing the whistle after the starting whistle. According to Dean, in some cases the referees managed to not interrupt the game for 20-25 minutes. "We used to sometimes play with each other, just for a laugh. For example, we competed to see how long we could hold out without blowing the whistle after the start of the match. Several times it reached 20-25 minutes," said Dean. Another challenge concerned the central circle. Dean stood in the center of the field and tried to stay as long as possible. Once the referee managed to stay there for about 15 minutes. "And I also stood in the central circle on the field and checked how long I could stay in it and not leave. Somehow I lasted like that for 15 minutes," added the former referee.