Ex-PL Referee, Mark Clattenburg Reveals Toughest Players He Officiated

Ex-Premier League referee, Mark Clattenburg has revealed the most difficult players he encountered during his time on the pitch.

He made the revelation in an interview with the Daily Mail.

Clattenburg rose from Premier League referee to officiate in the Champions League and European Championship finals during his years as a highly-rated official in football. But retired in 2017, after being tired of the abuse he received in discharge of his duties.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, he named the worst culprits, starting with the ex-Wales forward now-turned coach, Craig Bellamy, who, according to Clattenburg, “was just plain rude”.

“I knew my relationship with him was on sticky ground when he squeezed my balls in the tunnel at the Etihad, and I don’t mean my match balls,” he recalled.

“He would snarl at you and throw his arms around, constantly challenging you. His language was awful, just plain rude.

“As a referee, it is difficult when you have a problem player like that because you are drawn to him and it’s a distraction.

“Because I’m a Newcastle fan, I had the luxury of never refereeing him when I started. I just wish he had stayed at Newcastle for a bit longer!”

Tenacious ex-Man United midfielder Roy Keane came up next: “Remember the incident with Andy D’Urso when he screamed in his face? That attempt to bully the referee is what he was like.

“I do think that came from Sir Alex Ferguson as well though. It was never about influencing the decision that had gone with Manchester United, it was always about applying more pressure ahead of the next one.

“You just couldn’t trust Roy either. You never knew if he was going to blow up or do something nasty, like the tackle on Alf-Inge Haaland. That was a disgrace, it was pre-meditated.”

Clattenburg continued, moving on to former Arsenal and Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann: “He was just so irritable and never stopped, one of those miserable blokes who would whinge about everything and everyone.

“If the ball was round, he would whinge. If the ball was white, he would whinge. You would think, ‘just give it a rest’.

“He was erratic and his antics were not easy to deal with.”

Next up was Portuguese defender, Pepe another notorious troublemaker: “A game could be easy and straightforward then he would do something sly,” Clattenburg said.

“In that 2016 Champions League final Real Madrid went 1-0 up in the first half but the goal was slightly offside and we realised at half-time, it was a hard call and my assistant missed it.

“I gave Atletico a penalty early in the second half when Pepe fouled Fernando Torres. Pepe was furious and said to me in perfect English: ‘Never a penalty, Mark.’ I said to him: ‘Your first goal shouldn’t have stood.’ It shut him up.

“But he was a wind-up merchant and not fun to referee one bit, you had to be on your guard constantly.”

Send Us A Press Statement Advertise With Us Contact Us

 And For More Nigerian News Visit GWG.NG