Mark Clattenburg

Summary

Mark Clattenburg (born 13 March 1975)[1] is an English former professional football referee.

Mark Clattenburg
Full name Mark Clattenburg
Born (1975-03-13) 13 March 1975 (age 49)
Consett, County Durham, England
Domestic
Years League Role
1993–1994 Northern League Assistant referee
1994–1999 Northern League Referee
1999–2000 Football Conference Referee
1999–2000 The Football League Assistant referee
2000–2004 The Football League Referee
2004–2017 Premier League Referee
2024 Gladiators UK Referee
International
Years League Role
2006–2017 FIFA listed Referee

Clattenburg is a former member of the Premier League and the Durham County Football Association and also a former FIFA referee. He has refereed a number of notable matches, including the 2016 UEFA Champions League final and the UEFA Euro 2016 final. Clattenburg is considered one of the most highly-rated European referees of his generation.[2]

Clattenburg is the lead referee in the BBC 2024 revival of TV show Gladiators.[3]

Career edit

Early career edit

Born in Consett, County Durham,[4] Clattenburg took up refereeing in 1990 as part of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award[5] and became an assistant referee in the Northern League at the age of 18, later refereeing in that league. He became both a Football Conference referee and a Football League assistant referee in the year 1999,[5] but was rapidly promoted to the National List of Football League referees in the year 2000.[1] He had served only one year as an assistant – a record shared with Steve Baines – but his promise led to quicker promotion. His debut Football League match (at the age of just 25 – a one-time post-War record) was between Chesterfield and York City on 12 August 2000, with Chesterfield winning 4–1.[6] Clattenburg was then fourth official for the 2001–02 Division Three play-off final[1] and the 2002–03 FA Trophy final.[7]

In the 2002–03 season, Clattenburg was chosen to referee two play-off semi-finals – the Division One first-leg 1–1 draw between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United at the City Ground on 10 May 2003,[8] and the Division Two second-leg home win by Queens Park Rangers over Oldham at Loftus Road on 14 May 2003, which put Rangers through to the final.[9]

On 15 May 2004, he refereed the Division One play-off semi-final first leg between Ipswich and West Ham at Portman Road, which was won 1–0 by the home side.[10] He followed this with his appointment at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 31 May 2004 for the Division Three play-off final contested by Mansfield and Huddersfield, which required a penalty shoot-out after the match finished 0–0 after extra time. Huddersfield won the shoot-out 4–1.[11] Also in 2004, he became a Select Group referee in the Premier League,[1] and his debut match at this level was the 3–1 away win by Everton against Crystal Palace on 21 August of the same year.

Turning professional edit

 
Clattenburg refereeing the 2012 Football League Cup Final

Clattenburg became a FIFA referee in 2006, at the age of 30, two years after turning professional.[12] He refereed Alan Shearer's testimonial match on 11 May 2006; he is a Newcastle United fan,[13] and therefore does not referee competitive games involving Newcastle.[4] On 9 September 2006, he took charge of a qualifying match for the 2007 UEFA Under-17s Championship at the Gradski Stadium in Skopje between Macedonia and Denmark; the away side winning 3–0.[14]

Clattenburg was appointed to control both legs of the 2006–07 FA Youth Cup final, contested by Liverpool and Manchester United, firstly at Anfield on 16 April 2007 which United won 2–1, and then at Old Trafford on 26 April 2007 which Liverpool won 1–0. With the aggregate scores tied, Liverpool won the subsequent penalty shoot-out 4–3 after a goalless 30 minutes of extra time.[15][16]

On 6 August 2008 he refereed his first UEFA Champions League match, a 5–0 away win for Fenerbahçe at MTK Budapest. Clattenburg's next Champions League appointment was not until 3 November 2010 when he took charge of Auxerre's 2–1 win over visitors Ajax.

Investigation of debts edit

In the summer of 2008, Clattenburg was appointed to referee that year's FA Community Shield, with Dave Richardson and Ian Gosling assisting and Andre Marriner acting as fourth official.[17] However, Clattenburg was later suspended from refereeing, pending an investigation into alleged debts incurred by companies to which he was connected.[18] The Shield match between Portsmouth and Manchester United took place at Wembley Stadium with Peter Walton as the replacement referee.[19]

Following the investigation into his personal life and business debts, the referees' governing body dismissed Clattenburg, citing a breach of contract. He denied all the allegations and appealed against the decision. On 18 February 2009 the Professional Game Match Officials Board reinstated Clattenburg as a Select Group referee. However, he had to serve an eight-month suspension, starting from his original suspension date of 6 August 2008. Upon his return from suspension on the last day of the Premier League season, Clattenburg refereed a fixture between Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers — his only domestic appointment of that season.

2010–2012 edit

Clattenburg was involved in a FIFA World Cup as a fourth official for a 2010 tournament UEFA qualifying group 4 match between Azerbaijan and Russia in Baku on 14 October 2009.[20]

He has officiated qualifying games for Euro Championships. In September 2010 he oversaw a 4–4 draw between Portugal and Cyprus, a qualifier for Euro 2012. His first Euro Championship match however was a 4–0 home win for Denmark over Liechtenstein, a group F qualifier for Euro 2008.

Clattenburg was appointed to referee the 2012 Football League Cup Final between Liverpool and Cardiff City at Wembley Stadium on 26 February 2012. Liverpool won a penalty shoot-out 3–2 after extra-time finished 2–2. He booked three players during the game and was rarely required to interpret any contentious moments.[21]

He officiated at UEFA Euro 2012 as an additional assistant referee in a team led by Howard Webb.[22] Clattenburg was also selected as one of the referees for the men's football tournament of the 2012 Olympic Games.[23] He officiated a group stage match between Egypt and New Zealand at Old Trafford, a quarter-final between Senegal and Mexico and the gold medal match between Brazil and Mexico, both at Wembley Stadium.

Clattenburg refereed a Champions League quarter-final first leg on 2 April 2013 between Bayern Munich and Juventus after which former Bayern player Paul Breitner praised the official for letting the game flow. Bayern won the leg 2–0.[24]

On 28 October 2012, Chelsea made a formal complaint to the Football Association against Clattenburg about his alleged use of "inappropriate language" towards Mikel John Obi during that day's match against Manchester United.[25] The FA cleared Clattenburg of wrongdoing nine days later and charged Mikel with using "threatening and/or abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour" towards Clattenberg after the match.[26] He returned to duty as the fourth official for a fixture between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United on 25 November and refereed Norwich City's Premier League game at Southampton for his full return to the middle on 28 November 2012.[27] He was given a standing ovation by sections of both sets of fans at the game, which finished 1–1, and the managers of both clubs said afterward that they were "pleased to see him back".[28]

2013–2015 edit

Clattenburg refereed the 2013 FA Community Shield between Wigan Athletic and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium on 11 August 2013. United won the match 2–0.[29]

In October 2014 Clattenburg was stood down for one weekend following a Crystal Palace game for phoning manager Neil Warnock and for travelling from the fixture alone (Premier League rules state all match officials must not be involved in any conversation with a manager after a game and require all officials to travel to and from a match together).[30] Clattenburg’s reasoning was that of attending an Ed Sheeran gig later in the day.

2016 edit

Clattenburg refereed the 2016 FA Cup Final, contested by Crystal Palace and Manchester United. The match went to extra-time and Manchester United won by a scoreline of 2–1.

Clattenburg was selected as the referee of the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid in Milan on 28 May.[31] Real Madrid went on to win the match 5–3 after extra time and penalties.[32]

Clattenburg officiated at several matches at UEFA Euro 2016. Late in a group match between the Czech Republic and Croatia in Saint-Étienne, Croatian hooligans threw flares onto the pitch and Clattenburg suspended the match for several minutes, moving the players away from the burning flares to avoid injury.[33][34][35][36]

Clattenburg went on to referee the UEFA Euro 2016 Final between Portugal and France on 10 July,[37] which Portugal went on to win 1–0 after extra time.

Premier League exit edit

On 16 February 2017, the PGMOL announced that Clattenburg had left his position as a Premier League referee for a role with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation,[38] replacing Howard Webb as the country's Head of Refereeing.[39]

China edit

On 23 February 2019, it was announced that Clattenburg had been hired by CFA to become one of the professional referees in China.[40]

Leisure Leagues edit

In 2017, Clattenburg was announced as an Ambassador for Leisure Leagues agreeing to become their Head Referee[41] as part of this, he was a guest of honour at the formation of the International Socca Federation in Birmingham UK, refereeing the final of the 6 a side World Cup in 2019 as Germany beat Poland.[42]

He was also there in 2019, as the World Cup went to Crete,[43] refereeing with fellow former Premier League referee Bobby Madley.[44]

Egypt edit

On 5 August 2022, he was appointed as president of the Egyptian Referees Committee in order to improve the performances of local referees.[45] On 24 January 2023, he resigned from his position and left Egypt, due to threats from fans after Zamalek SC president Mortada Mansour alleged that he was in a gay relationship, in addition to unpaid £32,000-a-month salary for the last two months.[46]

Return to England edit

In February 2024, Clattenburg was appointed by Nottingham Forest as the club's "referee analyst".[47]

List of notable matches edit

Notable matches refereed by Clattenburg include:

Statistics edit

Match breakdown edit

Clattenburg refereed 297 Premier League matches, 37 in the FA Cup, 28 in the Champions League, 21 in the EFL Cup, 4 in European Championships, and 3 at the Olympics.[48]

Games and cards edit

Season Games Total     per game Total     per game
2000–01 24 67 2.79 4 0.17
2001–02 33 103 3.12 6 0.18
2002–03 35 135 3.86 8 0.23
2003–04 34 104 3.06 2 0.06
2004–05 28 83 2.96 5 0.18
2005–06 24 81 3.38 4 0.17
2006–07 42 166 3.95 3 0.07
2007–08 39 124 3.18 10 0.26
2008–09 2 0 0.00 0 0.00
2009–10 42 105 2.50 5 0.12
2010–11 40 123 3.08 7 0.18
2011–12 36 115 3.19 8 0.22
2012–13 36 104 2.89 6 0.17
2013–14 42 145 3.45 6 0.13
2014–15 47 172 3.66 5 0.11
2015–16 46 162 3.52 7 0.15
2016–17 26 90 3.46 4 0.15
Total 576 1879 3.26 90 0.16
Source: Soccerbase

Statistics are for all competitions, including domestic, European and international. No records are available prior to 2000–01.

Media work edit

Clattenburg joined the ESPN commentary team for Euro 2020 as their officiating and VAR expert.[49][50] He expanded his role with ESPN to also work MLS and USMNT games.

Clattenburg refereed the 2022 and 2023 Sidemen Charity Matches.

He refereed several Soccer Aid matches for charity.

Clattenburg is also the lead referee in the BBC 2024 revival of TV show Gladiators.[51]

Personal life edit

Clattenburg went to Cramlington Community High School and was chosen to play football for them, as well as South Northumberland.[5] He is divorced from his wife with whom he lived in Chester-le-Street; they had one son during their marriage.[52]

Bibliography edit

Date Title Publisher ISBN
30 September 2021 Whistle Blower[53] Headline Publishing Group 978-1-4722-8203-3

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Referee Profiles". The Football League. Archived from the original on 17 March 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  2. ^ Sport, Telegraph (28 December 2016). "Mark Clattenburg named best referee in the world". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  3. ^ Media, BBC (13 January 2024). "Meet the Gladiators Referees picking up their whistles to keep the Gladiators and contenders in check". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Face to face: Mark Clattenburg". icNewcastle. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Interview Archived 1 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine, page 4: icNewcastle.co.uk website.
  6. ^ Clattenburg's First League Match Archived 1 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine: at soccerbase.com
  7. ^ FA Trophy Final 2003, fourth official: TheFA.com Official website.
  8. ^ [1][permanent dead link]
  9. ^ [2][permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Ipswich v. West Ham Archived 24 December 2004 at the Wayback Machine, 2004 Division One play-off semi-final first leg: soccerbase.com website.
  11. ^ Mansfield v. Huddersfield Archived 20 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine, 2004 Division Three play-off final: soccerbase.com website.
  12. ^ Interview: Guardian Unlimited website.
  13. ^ Alan Shearer Testimonial: report from the NUFC.com website. Archived 11 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ European Under-16 Championship qualifying match, FYR Macedonia v. Denmark, 2006: PDF file at UEFA.com Official website.
  15. ^ Mention Archived 24 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine of appointments to control FA Youth Cup Final legs: Essex FA website.
  16. ^ Second leg of the FA Youth Cup Final: match report at TheFA.com Official website.
  17. ^ "Shield referee confirmed". The Football Association. 23 June 2008. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
  18. ^ "Walton to referee Shield". The Football Association. 7 August 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
  19. ^ "Ref Clattenburg hit by suspension". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 7 August 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
  20. ^ FIFA World Cup qualifier Archived 15 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Germany v. Finland, referee: Refworld.com website. Retrieved on 27 November 2009.
  21. ^ Winter, Henry (27 February 2012). "Cardiff City 2 Liverpool 2; Liverpool win on penalties". Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  22. ^ "Euro 2012 Referees" (PDF). UEFA. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  23. ^ "Olympic Football Tournaments - Appointment of Match Officials" (PDF). FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  24. ^ Paul Breitner: So verteidigt er Franck Ribéry, Abendzeitung, 3 April 2013.
  25. ^ "CHELSEA STATEMENT". chelseafc.com. 29 October 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  26. ^ "Mark Clattenberg is cleared by FA as Chelsea's Mikel is charged". BBC. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  27. ^ "Mark Clattenburg: Norwich boss Chris Hughton welcomes him back". BBC. 26 November 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  28. ^ "Mark Clattenburg welcomed back to Premier League refereeing". BBC. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  29. ^ Steinberg, Jacob (11 August 2013). "Manchester United v Wigan: Community Shield – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  30. ^ "Mark Clattenburg: Premier League drop referee after Ed Sheeran gig". BBC Sport. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  31. ^ "Mark Clattenburg to take charge of Champions League final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  32. ^ Sport, Neil Johnston BBC. "Real Madrid 1-1 Atletico Madrid (5-3 pens)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  33. ^ "VIDEO: Chaos at Euro 2016 as flare explodes in steward's face after Croatian fans hurl fireworks". The Independent. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  34. ^ Hunter, Andy (17 June 2016). "Czech Republic comeback marred by Croatia flare and fan incidents". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  35. ^ Brown, Luke (17 June 2016). "Czech Republic 2 Croatia 2, Euro 2016: Czechs grab late draw in game overshadowed by crowd violence". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  36. ^ "Uefa to act after Croatia fan fights and flares mar Czech Republic draw". The Guardian. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
  37. ^ "Clattenburg named referee for UEFA EURO 2016 final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  38. ^ "PGMOL statement on Mark Kato Clattenburg". Premier League. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  39. ^ Taylor, Louise (4 December 2017). "Mark Clattenburg leaves Premier League to 'educate' Saudi Arabia referees". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  40. ^ "坚持根本遵循 深化足球改革 推动联赛发展——2019赛季中超、中甲联赛动员大会召开". CFA.com (in Chinese). 23 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  41. ^ "Big Interview: Game of cards – and tattoos for ref Mark Clattenburg". Expressandstar.com.
  42. ^ "Deutscher Kleinfeld-Fußball-Verband". Facebook.com. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  43. ^ "Gallery – International Socca federation". Soccafederation.com.
  44. ^ "News – International Socca federation". Soccafederation.com.
  45. ^ "Clattenburg steps down as head of the Egyptian Referees committee". Ahram Online. 24 January 2023.
  46. ^ "Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg leaves Egypt following threats from fans after Zamalek president Mortada Mansour incorrectly claimed he was in a gay relationship". talkSPORT. 24 January 2023.
  47. ^ "Nottingham Forest appoint Mark Clattenburg as referee analyst". The Telegraph. 17 February 2024.
  48. ^ "Mark Clattenburg - Matches as referee". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  49. ^ "ESPN names star-studded cast of Euro 2020 hosts and studio analysts". Worldsoccertalk.com. 27 May 2021.
  50. ^ "ESPN Assembles an All-Star Roster of Hosts, Analysts and Reporters for UEFA EURO 2020, June 11 – July 11" (Press release). ESPN. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  51. ^ Media, BBC (13 January 2024). "Meet the Gladiators Referees picking up their whistles to keep the Gladiators and contenders in check". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  52. ^ Taylor, Louise (30 October 2012). "Mark Clattenburg: high flyer who courted controversy on and off field". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  53. ^ Clattenburg, Mark (29 March 2021). Whistle Blower. ISBN 9781472282033.

External links edit

  • Mark Clattenburg Profile at Refworld.com
  • Mark Clattenburg Referee Statistics Archived 1 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine at soccerbase.com
Sporting positions
 /  Mark Clattenburg
Preceded by 2012 FIFA Men's Olympic Football Tournament Final Referee Succeeded by
Preceded by 2014 UEFA Super Cup Referee Succeeded by
Preceded by 2016 UEFA Champions League Final Referee Succeeded by
Preceded by UEFA Euro 2016 final Referee Succeeded by