Off Topic Mark Clattenburg

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Jun 27, 2011
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Is this great refereeing and a case of 'meh' good on him. Or, should he have done things by the book?

He deliberately DID NOT send off any Spurs players.
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Mark Clattenburg admits he 'allowed' Tottenham Hotspur to self-destruct in the 2-2 draw at Chelsea that handed Leicester City the title in 2016, in order to avoid negative headlines.

The former Premier League referee booked nine Spurs players in the ill-tempered Stamford Bridge derby, with Tottenham needing to win to maintain their challenge for the Premier League.

Moussa Dembele was subsequently banned for six games after an altercation with Diego Costa, while Jan Vertonghen and Eric Dier were also fortunate to stay on due to a succession of late challenges.

Speaking on NBC'sMen in Blazerspodcast, Clattenburg said: "I allowed them [Spurs] to self-destruct so all the media, all the people in the world went: 'Tottenham lost the title.'

"If I sent three players off from Tottenham, what are the headlines? 'Clattenburg cost Tottenham the title.' It was pure theatre that Tottenham self-destructed against Chelsea and Leicester won the title."

He added: "I helped the game. I certainly benefited the game by my style of refereeing.

"Some referees would have played by the book; Tottenham would have been down to seven or eight players and probably lost and they would've been looking for an excuse.

"But I didn't give them an excuse, because my game plan was: Let them lose the title."

Spurs squandered a two goal lead at Chelsea that night, with Eden Hazard's sumptuous late equaliser sparking frenzied celebrations among the Leicester squad who were watching the game on television.

Clattenburg stepped down as a Premier League official in February in order to become Saudi Arabia's head of referees.

Clattenburg says he had to change his style of refereeing when he took charge of European matches.

"The English style of refereeing is different," he added.

"I had to referee differently when I went into Europe because none of the top players in Europe would accept some of the physical contact that went on in the Premier League - but that was the theatre, that's what people loved.

"They love a tackle, they don't want it punished."
 
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He should have sent people off if they deserved to get sent off. If a relegation threatened team had to play Spurs next game and they had a stronger squad available than they should have had?
 
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Yeah this would have been better left unsaid. We all know referees occasionally bend the rules but to admit it and to say it was because he didn't want negative headlines about himself makes him look weak and a **** ref.
 
Yeah not sure on this one. If was ****ing funny to watch actually but some of those tackles near the end of the match were deserving of a red and they should have been dealt with accordingly. What if Spurs had scored a late winner?
 
Oddbod said:
He should have sent people off if they deserved to get sent off. If a relegation threatened team had to play Spurs next game and they had a stronger squad available than they should have had?
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The mags played them last day of the season and thrashed them with 10 men!
 
MrRAWhite said:
His game plan? That is a shocking statement for a ref to make..
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Vincemac said:
Shocking ref
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He wasn't though Vince - I thought he was a very good ref when I saw him - but this statement proves the point that people have been making for a while - a ref will make decisions not based on rule or fact but on how they feel at the time. 3 challenges I saw on Saturday worse than McManaman's first yellow (one by us) and none of them carried a yellow card. All how the ref frelt at the time.

Very poor form
 
MrRAWhite said:
His game plan? That is a shocking statement for a ref to make..
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Agreed. He's there to ref the bloody game
You hear ref's talking about controlling the tempo of the game. That's none of their concern.
When this sort of thing happens they've over-stepped the mark, and it's time to say goodbye to them.
 
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He's a ref, and they're supposed to go by the book. If a player commits a red card offence they should go - the ref. shouldn't be thinking 'what will people say about me?'
 
I don't think he should ever be allowed to referee a game in England, again. Not after those comments.

He's been refereeing the game like it's a pantomime for entertainment and he's been directing it towards a certain way. Game plan? He can't have a game plan, he's a referee, he's just there to make sure the rules are upheld. He should have sent the Tottenham players off and not put his ego in the way, he wasn't thinking about the next game and the possible effects it could have on that, only how his performance would be viewed.
 
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He could have opened a can of worms here because we've long suspected that referees have an agenda and this pretty much confirms it. Can't trust the ****ers.
 
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