This is far from the first upheaval Clattenburg has confronted, writes LOUISE TAYLOR
MARK CLATTENBURG has long cut a precocious figure; in the best and worst senses of the word. First seen running the line in the rough, tough Northern League at the age of 18, he became a Football League referee at a then unprecedented 25 and made the prestigious Fifa list shortly after his 30th birthday.
Still only 37 and now ranked among the world’s foremost officials, Clattenburg openly enjoys the trappings of success.
In recent years Clattenburg’s “matey” refereeing style has, on occasion, created on-field sparks. Sometimes his casual, chatty approach towards the game’s multimillionaire players works superbly, at other times it raises hackles among a breed known for their sensitivity to being “disrespected” and, on Sunday, it left him fighting to save his career.
The truth or otherwise of accusations that Clattenburg aimed a racist insult at Chelsea’s Mikel John Obi during Manchester United’s 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge remains unknown but, despite the staunch support of the referees’ union, he is facing the most severe crisis of his professional life.
Although very different from previous traumas, it is far from the first upheaval he has confronted in recent years. The divorced father of a young son, his private life has not always run smoothly while his stewardship of two electrical companies was beset by financial difficulties.
In 2008 he had been sacked by the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOB) pending a probe into his business affairs following allegations that he owed £60,000 as a result of a failed venture as the co-owner of an electrical company.
In February 2009 Clattenburg was reinstated as a Select Group Referee on appeal but suspended for eight months from August 6th, 2008 – the date of his original ban – for “issues relating to his private and business affairs”.
Mark Hughes was one of a number of managers who welcomed Clattenburg back saying he was a “good referee” and the game “needed” men of his talent but in December 2009 Hughes, then in charge of Manchester City, at least temporarily changed his mind.
The Welshman was left furious after accusing Clattenburg of asking the City bench “How do you work with Craig Bellamy all week?” in a game against Bolton during which he sent the forward off for a second yellow card offence.
In 2007 Clattenburg’s judgment had been called, similarly, into question when, during a Merseyside derby, he seemed poised to issue Everton’s Tony Hibbert with a yellow card before producing a red following a brief discussion with Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard. Later in the game he failed to dismiss Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt for a two-footed waist-high lunge. He did not take charge of another match involving Everton until earlier this year and has yet to reappear at Goodison Park.
Like every referee, Clattenburg has made his fair share of controversial decisions and there have, inevitably, been mistakes.
Overall, though, a man dubbed “absolutely fantastic” by the Leeds United manager Neil Warnock – normally a scourge of match officials – has got far more decisions right than wrong.
Whether or not he can emerge from the shadow cast by Chelsea’s allegations remains to be seen.
