Mauricio Pochettino believes Mike Dean is trying to be 'controversial' to remain in the spotlight as he reflected on his personal experience with the former referee which included a 'stupid' comment from the latter.

Dean enraged many last week after admitting to playing a game where he would see how long he could go without blowing his whistle while officiating Premier League matches.

The 58-year-old, who retired in 2023 after over 20 years of officiating at the highest level, also revealed that he would try and stay in the centre-circle for as long as he could during some games.

Following the backlash, Dean has since issued a statement, insisting he did always apply the letter of the law when he was an official.

And following this incident, former Tottenham Hotspur manager Pochettino is not surprised and believes Dean is now 'showing people how he was'.

Pochettino and Dean were once embroiled in a heated moment caught on camera during the 2018-19 season with Spurs in a title challenge. On February 23, 2019, the pair were involved in a bust-up after Tottenham had lost 2-1 at Burnley.

As soon as the full-time whistle blew, an angry Pochettino stormed on to the pitch to confront Dean before walking away then returning to argue further after an apparent comment from the referee.

His assistant, Jesus Perez, intervened and can be heard shouting 'say that again, in front of the camera,' at Dean amid the melee, as Pochettino was led away by Burnley defender Phil Bardsley.

Pochettino was subsequently given a two-match touchline ban as well as a £10,000 fine for his role, while Dean was dropped as a fourth official for the London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham just a few days later.

Speaking about Dean and the Turf Moor tetchiness, the current United States manager said: 'What he said was a stupid thing. But our code is we never talk about what happened on the pitch. It's like what happened in Las Vegas - stays in Las Vegas.

'But in that moment we were under pressure. The perception was "Tottenham need to win something." It's true that we were a little bit under pressure.

'We were disappointed in that game. He said one stupid thing, it makes you react so quick. It's not that we cannot deal with it.

'But it was like in my position, I would never do that. How do you say? Make a joke? I'm not going to be the funny guy to do some joke if you are under pressure in your job.'

And Pochettino's thoughts on Dean's latest remarks? 'He was controversial. His character now - he's showing how he was,' the Argentine continued. 

'People maybe like him, people maybe do not. Maybe now he's playing a little bit with the personality, and to try to be funny, and to create some controversial things.

'He's putting some salt, pepper, like a chili, some condiments (on a steak). He needs to understand that "OK, let's not put gasoline on to the fire".

'It was always funny to be with him. We had a good relationship. It was only this action, that situation, that was tough because we were in a very sensitive moment.'

Speaking last week on the Jamie Vardy's Having a Party podcast, Dean said: 'There used to be games we would have for a laugh.

'It would kick-off, right; see how long we could go without blowing a whistle. I done that a few times in the Premier League, before VAR, obviously. Went 20, 25 minutes without blowing the whistle.

'I used to do another one 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. Got about 15 minutes once, in one game.'