Has Mark Clattenburg been sipping at some truth serum?
The former Premier League referee has suddenly become oddly honest about his time in England’s top flight.
Clattenburg bizarrely claimed that he’d taken charge of Chelsea’s infamous 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur last May with something of a gameplan as he didn’t want to be accused of spoiling Spurs’ title challenge by sending players off.
Nine of Mauricio Pochettino’s players were booked in the feisty encounter at Stamford Bridge but the fact that Clattenburg deviated from the rulebook and then openly admitted it has raised some eyebrows among several supporters.
The respected official took charge of the Champions League final and FA Cup final last year, as well as the Euro 2016 final, but his sudden openness has prompted some fans to question his decision-making.
Not only has he confessed to allowing Spurs to self-destruct but he’s also revealed that, as a younger man, he was intimated into making a decision that he knew was incorrect.
Speaking on the Men in Blazers podcast, Clattenburg said: “Even in the Premier League, I still smile at the first time I came across Roy Keane.
“He screamed at us for a corner and I’m sure it was a goal kick but because he screamed at us so loudly, I gave a corner. I was that petrified of him.”
Clattenburg can perhaps be cut a bit of slack because he was still very inexperienced at the time and there are few men who wouldn’t be afraid of Keane.
Clattenburg developed into one of the world’s top officials and has since taken up a position as as Saudi Arabia’s head of referees.
“I probably lacked man management. I didn’t have management experience because I was still a young boy,” Clattenburg said.
“I hadn’t had that employment background. I didn’t have any experience of dealing with people, managing people, saying the right thing at the right time.
“It’s only when I got older that I started to develop those skills. When you have those skills, you interact with adults better, players better. If you interact with players, they make your life easier. When they make your life easier, you become a good referee.”
