Ian Snodin: Mark Clattenburg is no stranger to controversy

30 October 2012 10:55
It looks like the latest scandal to envelop referee Mark Clattenburg will rumble on for a while – after he was accused of making unsavoury comments to two Chelsea players after their defeat by Manchester United.

Clattenburg needs no introduction to Everton fans after his contribution to Merseyside derby history still lingers in the memory, but I think it’s important that nobody rushes to judge him in this case before all the facts are known. It must be incredibly hard for refs sometime. I know that when I was playing I was one of the biggest whingers and moaners and would always be in the refs ear. I told more than a few where to go during my time too and if they swore back at me and told me the same I’d have said fair play to them.

Now that’s entirely different to an racial slur of course, but I don’t see anything wrong with a ref swearing back at a player who has just given them a mouthful like I used to do. Certainly there were plenty of controversial talking points from the game – not least the farcical red card for Fernando Torres. However we don’t want to deter refs from showing their human side. I think Mark Halsey is one of the best and he often banters with players and gives stick back to them. Related stories From around the web Related Tags

Source: liverpool_echo