Mark Clattenburg

[Flying high]

All PL referees seem do this sadly. Always been the case and always will be.

They have so little accountability that them looking after their reputation first and foremost is not surprising.

That's really letting him off the hook though. He has always come across as self obsessed, and clearly one of the worst.

But to brag about it like this? There is no way he can carry on as a PL ref imo. If the PL/FA and referees association want to retain any credibility they must sack him and make sure that the rest of the refs actually follow the rules. There is NO excuse for this. In fact, is there any law being broken here? Seems to me that at the very least, anyone with money on the game might have a say in this.

 

[VanGaalEra]

So this cnut just let Spurs players get away with leg breaking challenges one after another. Who gives a shit about theatre when a player could end up with a broken leg?

 

[RedDevil@84]

He's retired and is working in Saudi Arabia.

Thank goodness.

Doesn't matter. He might come back when he is bored of Saudi or he starts getting death threats for screwing up his whatever job he does there.. FA projected him as the best ref of English football, which helped him officiate top European games. He should be punished for almost fixing the game.

 

[Kostur]

So this cnut just let Spurs players get away with leg breaking challenges one after another. Who gives a shit about theatre when a player could end up with a broken leg?

Well since you ask there were couple of idiots (no other way to describe them I believe) who were happy with how the game panned out 'because back in the 70s...' type of of shit.

 

[Vashu]

There better be a not small outrage over these comments or else they might encourage other refs to follow this foolish line of thinking.

 

[Mindhunter]

What?

Bit of an exaggeration but cricket players have seen jail for spot fixing and in my mind this is definitely bigger (although the underlying incentive is not monetary). He is basically saying that he tried to influence the result of a game and him being the most influential person on the pitch it makes it scandalous.

 

[Piratesoup]

What an absolute shitbag. He's there to enforce the rules and fecking protect the players. What he's saying is basically that he didn't give a rat's ass about the health of the players getting the shit kicked out of them. It's like a surgeon saying he didn't want to remove the tumor he found because going through chemo would be such great drama.

He didn't do what he gets paid for, he acted against everything "fair play" stands for. What a cnut. And to think such a creature was allowed to ref an EC and a CL final in the same year...

 

[Ish]

What a moron.

 

[Problem-free Philosophy]

Maybe his penchant for theatre finally explains his reffing when we played Leicester away. His decision to not give a foul against Vardy and then a penalty against Rafael is still easily the most clearly biased ten seconds of refereeing I've ever seen.

Flat out admitting here that he didn't want any negative media attention following a result and so made a conscious & selfish decision to prioritise his image over the safety of the players on the pitch. If someone had suffered a career-ender then he would have been squarely to blame.

 

[Kentonio]

He's always been a cock, so this isn't any massive surprise. If we'd lost that game though, I'd be fecking fuming right now.

 

[Flax_Generous]

Flat out admitting here that he didn't want any negative media attention following a result and so made a conscious & selfish decision to prioritise his image over the safety of the players on the pitch. If someone had suffered a career-ender then he would have been squarely to blame.

Some of these could easily have resulted in an injury.

 

[noodlehair]

Maybe his penchant for theatre finally explains his reffing when we played Leicester away. His decision to not give a foul against Vardy and then a penalty against Rafael is still easily the most clearly biased ten seconds of refereeing I've ever seen.

Flat out admitting here that he didn't want any negative media attention following a result and so made a conscious & selfish decision to prioritise his image over the safety of the players on the pitch. If someone had suffered a career-ender then he would have been squarely to blame.

You have to presume based on this that every non borderline/difficult incorrect decision he's made in any game was down to him having an agenda about how the game should go, rather than being an honest mistake, because this interview has just made that by far the most plausible explanation available.

And from that you have to wonder what the agendas actually were, because "theatre" is a very loose explanation. Clattenburg's definition of what makes good theatre could be anything from not ruining a game to actively wanting to make a particular decision regardless of whether it is correct, or even actively helping a particular team to win or come back into a game.

Basically we now know we have a situation where if a manager or player even mentions a referee in any context before or after a game, they are fined, but the referee is free to officiate the game with any agenda he sees fit, and not only is he allowed to, but no is allowed to suggest that's what he is doing.

If anyone from Chelsea had accused Clattenburg of deliberately not sending off Spurs players, they'd have been hauled in front of the FA and punished for undermining the integrity of the officials, due to this being such a serious thing to accuse a referee of doing...so it HAS to be treated very seriously if the referee actually does do this. If referees have a free reign to show as little fairness or integrity as they like, then it is actually more fair to just not have them at all.

 

[Jimmy Skitz]

I will say this had he sent off 3 Spurs player that night and Chelsea won comfortable I can imagine him being destroyed in the press the next day, that it what he was trying to avoid, where the media is concerned its a no win situation

 

[Tom Van Persie]

He should never be allowed to referee a game again in the PL ever again.

 

[RedDevil@84]

I will say this had he sent off 3 Spurs player that night and Chelsea won comfortable I can imagine him being destroyed in the press the next day, that it what he was trying to avoid, where the media is concerned its a no win situation

Refs are not supposed to be playing for the gallery.
The worst part is, despite all his attempts at not being on front pages in papers the next day, he would still be remembered for that bottled job in the match where he didnt have the ba**s to take a big decision in a big important match

 

[TheeAma]

Clattenburg justs like Howard Webb, Mike Dean and Michael Oliver all have an agenda, and if it doesn't suit them they play it differently. Just look at the calls city are getting and being allowed to get away with.

And when Chelsea fans say their is an agenda against us we're all called conspiracy theorist.

 

[Ish]

Some of these could easily have resulted in an injury.

Really was mind blowing how any Spurs player, let alone 3-4, wasn’t sent off in that match.

 

[IBleedRed]

This is getting dangerously close to becoming scripted nonsense like wrestling.

 

[adexkola]

A great man once said, "Clattenburg... Jesus, God".

 

[Munkehboi]

Just watched this, remembered it being a bad tempered match and Spuds players being pretty brutal but with what Twattenberg has come out with today, yeah at least 3 red cards, Chelsea players needed more protection from him, I love hefty challanges and tackles but some of it was borderline assault.

 

[sk6blue]

Never liked him as a ref, often made some very questionable decisions. One that sticks in the mind is giving handball against Sterling vs Spurs after the ball hit his back, extremely bizarre or suspicious depending on how you look at it. I seem to remember he was demoted for several months after a merseyside derby a few years ago.

The fact he left in the middle of season was odd as well, like he couldn't wait to get away

 

[RedCurry]

It's a fecking sport not broadway.

I hope FA puts the message loud and clear to the refs that their one-and-only purpose in the game is to officiate the game as fairly as possible. Leave the entertainment to the players.

 

[sk6blue]

Clattenburg justs like Howard Webb, Mike Dean and Michael Oliver all have an agenda, and if it doesn't suit them they play it differently. Just look at the calls city are getting and being allowed to get away with.

Yes it's worth looking again at how Walker was sent off vs Everton. Ake was also very fortunate not to be red-carded for Bournemouth!

Seriously though, after the run of decisions City had in the last 2 seasons (especially in the bigger games) this season looks quite normal to me, some for and some against. Maybe that's the issue

 

[Jimmy Skitz]

It's a fecking sport not broadway.

I hope FA puts the message loud and clear to the refs that their one-and-only purpose in the game is to officiate the game as fairly as possible. Leave the entertainment to the players.

they lost that argument years ago when refs that pissed off Fergie stopped getting United games

 

[RedCurry]

they lost that argument years ago when refs that pissed off Fergie stopped getting United games

1. This is not a Fergie thread.
2. When you make bold claims, do provide credible source for it otherwise you just come across as a conspiracy theorist.

 

[Vialli_92]

Ref's are let off with murder by the FA

Some of the decisions they make and poor call after poor call don't seem to go punished

By not giving cards players will keep pushing the envelope and it will only lead to more aggression until someone is finally sent off

 

[Jimmy Skitz]

1. This is not a Fergie thread.
2. When you make bold claims, do provide credible source for it otherwise you just come across as a conspiracy theorist.

it doesn't have to be a Fergie thread it was a direct response to you saying refs should just ref the game and it's well known that refs stopped getting United games because of Fergie, that's not a slight on him but on the FA that allowed his opinion of refs to determine who got which games, once they did that Refs want the top games too and change how they ref

 

[SirAF]

it doesn't have to be a Fergie thread it was a direct response to you saying refs should just ref the game and it's well known that refs stopped getting United games because of Fergie, that's not a slight on him but on the FA that allowed his opinion of refs to determine who got which games, once they did that Refs want the top games too and change how they ref

Conspiracy much?

If refs stopped getting United matches then it was because they were shite in those matches.

 

[RedCurry]

it doesn't have to be and its well known that refs stopped getting United games because of Fergie, that's not a slight on him but on the FA that allowed his opinion of refs to determine who got which games

No it's not a slight at SAF at all. A bit like multiple "well-known" proofs of earth being flat isn't a slight on NASA.

 

[B20]

what a utter coward - Anyone who referees according to how they will look in the headlines like that shouldn't be allowed to ref another game.

I can understand chickening out in the heat of the moment. Doing it with deliberation after multiple red card offences is pathetic.

Nevermind the fact that if he had actually brandished one red card, the other players might have curtailed themselves a bit. He created a game where tackles could fly with impunity.

 

[Jimmy Skitz]

Conspiracy much?

If refs stopped getting United matches then it was because they were shite in those matches.

Fergie had a lot of influence over the FA ,if he ranted about a ref that ref never got a United game again against a big club, even if the ref was proved right, several refs have talked about his influence, the man even got the England national team to fly into Manchester Airport from away games rather that a London airport that's how much the FA cared about his opinion

 

[rampo]

Some of these could easily have resulted in an injury.

But that's just Pochettino's young guns playing with heart and desire

 

[Inter Yer Nan]

He's an attention seeking self congratulating shitbag. Who else gets tattoos of games you reffed on your arms?

 

[Brightonian]

I can't work out if he's egotistical, exaggerating and wording his answers badly, or if he's saying what he means to say and is therefore an unhinged egomaniac who should never have been let anywhere near a professional football match.

Even allowing yourself to start thinking about a game in terms of a narrative, of expected outcomes... I've 'reffed' casual uni games when I was a sub for one of the teams and gone into it with my head screwed on better than that.

To be imagining fecking headlines is another thing entirely. What a fecking god complex.

 

[jojojo]

The arrogance of bragging about not doing the job he was paid for is extraordinary.

I do agree though, the temptation must always be there in the big games. Including the pressure of thinking about the media narrative and perception. I can see how that pressure can make refs fail to make the big decisions. The knowledge that any call is going to get replayed a dozen times from every angle in slow motion.

It's one of the reasons why I think we need VAR.

 

[ManUArfa]

The arrogance of bragging about not doing the job he was paid for is extraordinary.

I do agree though, the temptation must always be there in the big games. Including the pressure of thinking about the media narrative and perception. I can see how that pressure can make refs fail to make the big decisions. The knowledge that any call is going to get replayed a dozen times from every angle in slow motion.

It's one of the reasons why I think we need VAR.

Now a referee has admitted to trying to influence the outcome of a game by deliberately making incorrect decisions the case for VAR and the second opinions that go with it is compelling.

 

[duffer]

Too scared of a media backlash to do his job properly? fecking coward.

 

[Rado_N]

I remember there being feckwits on here applauding him for that performance.

 

[RedDevil@84]

I remember there being feckwits on here applauding him for that performance.

Chelsea and Tottenham should sue him for this. Both clubs got fined for game going out of control. Now it is proved that Clattenburg could have stopped the game from going out of control, but chose not to. He should pay up at the least.

 

[breakout67]

The worst thing is that his reasoning is absolutely arse backwards. There were some tackles in that game that were so late and so off the mark, that it was obvious that they were trying to take out the player. He could have easily let the first few go and then give a red card for the 3rd of 4th one, because that'show crazy that game was, and the media would not care one bit.