Mark Clattenburg (born 13 March 1975) is an English professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other tit ...

. Clattenburg is a former member of the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

and the

Durham County Football Association The Durham County Football Association (also simply known as the Durham FA) is the governing body of football in the historic county of Durham. The Durham FA was founded on 25 March 1883 and is the governing body for football in Durham from gras ...

and also a former

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

referee. He has refereed a number of notable matches, including the

2016 UEFA Champions League Final The 2016 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, the 61st season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 24th season since it was renamed from the European Champion C ...

and the UEFA Euro 2016 Final. Clattenburg is considered one of the most highly-rated European referees of his generation.

Career

Early career

Born in

Consett Consett is a town in County Durham, England, about south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had a population of 27,394 in 2001 and an estimate of 25,812 in 2019. History Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. Its' name originates in the ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, Clattenburg took up refereeing in 1990 as part of

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young ...

Interview
, page 4: ''icNewcastle.co.uk'' website. and became an

assistant referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

in the

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

at the age of 18, later refereeing in that league. He became both a

Football Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

referee and a Football League assistant referee in the year 1999, but was rapidly promoted to the National List of Football League referees in the year 2000. 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 York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...

on 12 August 2000, with Chesterfield winning 4–1. Clattenburg was then fourth official for the 2001–02 Division Three play-off final and the 2002–03

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The com ...

final. In the 2002–03 season, Clattenburg was chosen to referee two play-off semi-finals – the

Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First Div ...

first-leg 1–1 draw between Nottingham Forest and

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

at the

City Ground The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,445. The stadium was a venue when En ...

on 10 May 2003, and the Division Two second-leg home win by

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

over

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, w ...

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

on 14 May 2003, which put Rangers through to the final. On 15 May 2004, he refereed the Division One play-off semi-final first leg between

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

and

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient ...

Portman Road Portman Road is a football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly internation ...

, which was won 1–0 by the home side. He followed this with his appointment at

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national r ...

on 31 May 2004 for the Division Three play-off final contested by

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market to ...

and

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence i ...

, which required a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

after the match finished 0–0 after

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...

. Huddersfield won the shoot-out 4–1. Also in 2004, he became a Select Group referee in the Premier League, and his debut match at this level was the 3–1 away win by Everton against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

on 21 August of the same year.

Turning professional

Clattenburg became a FIFA referee in 2006, at the age of 30, two years after turning professional. He refereed

Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premi ...

's testimonial match on 11 May 2006; he is a

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...

fan, and therefore does not referee competitive games involving Newcastle. On 9 September 2006, he took charge of a qualifying match for the 2007 UEFA Under-17s Championship at the

Gradski Stadium Gradski stadion ( bg, Градски стадион, ) is a multi-purpose stadium in Ruse, Bulgaria. It is used for football matches and concerts. It hosts the home games of Dunav Ruse and Lokomotiv Ruse. The stadium holds a capacity of 13,000 ...

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

between Macedonia and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

; the away side winning 3–0. Clattenburg was appointed to control both legs of the 2006–07

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. I ...

final, contested by

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, firstly at

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 ...

on 16 April 2007 which United won 2–1, and then at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wembl ...

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. On 6 August 2008 he refereed his first

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

match, a 5–0 away win for Fenerbahçe at

MTK Budapest Magyar Testgyakorlók Köre is a multi-sports club from Budapest, founded in 1888. It has sections for football, handball, basketball, volleyball, futsal, ice hockey, water polo, cycling, gymnastics, athletics, fencing, canoeing, boxing, wrestlin ...

. Clattenburg's next Champions League appointment was not until 3 November 2010 when he took charge of

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

's 2–1 win over visitors

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

Investigation of debts

In the summer of 2008, Clattenburg was appointed to referee that year's

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA C ...

, with Dave Richardson and Ian Gosling assisting and

Andre Marriner Andre Marriner (born 1 January 1971)

acting as fourth official. However, Clattenburg was later suspended from refereeing, pending an investigation into alleged debts incurred by companies to which he was connected. The Shield match between

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

and Manchester United took place at Wembley Stadium with Peter Walton as the replacement referee. 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 {{Use dmy dates, date=January 201.He is a Everton fan. (PGMOL) is the body responsible for match officials in English professional football. Formerly known as the Professional Game Match Officials Board (PGMOB), it was formed when English refere ...

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 Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pik ...

— his only domestic appointment of that season.

2010–2012

Clattenburg was involved in a

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

as a fourth official for a 2010 tournament UEFA qualifying group 4 match between

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

in Baku on 14 October 2009. He has officiated qualifying games for Euro Championships. In September 2010 he oversaw a 4–4 draw between

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

, a qualifier for

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

. His first Euro Championship match however was a 4–0 home win for

over

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German language, German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constit ...

, a

group F Group F may refer to: * A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing * One of six or eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup ** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group F ** 2018 FIFA World Cup Group F ** 2014 FIFA ...

qualifier for

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...

. Clattenburg was appointed to referee the 2012 Football League Cup Final between

and

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

at Wembley Stadium on 26 February 2012. Liverpool won a

3–2 after extra-time finished 2–2. He booked three players during the game and was rarely required to interpret any contentious moments. He officiated at

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

as an additional assistant referee in a team led by Howard Webb. Clattenburg was also selected as one of the referees for the men's football tournament of the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He officiated a group stage match between

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

at Old Trafford, a quarter-final between

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

and the gold medal match between

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and Mexico, both at Wembley Stadium. Clattenburg refereed a Champions League quarter-final first leg on 2 April 2013 between

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

and

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

after which former Bayern player

Paul Breitner Paul Breitner (born 5 September 1951) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and left-back. Considered one of the best players of his era, Breitner was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Time Team, and was named by Pel ...

praised the official for letting the game flow. Bayern won the leg 2–0. On 28 October 2012,

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

made a formal complaint to

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world a ...

against Clattenburg about his alleged use of "inappropriate language" towards

Mikel John Obi Mikel John Obi (born John Michael Nchekwube Obinna; 22 April 1987) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Mikel began his career with local club Plateau United, before joining Norwegian club Lyn at th ...

during that day's match against

. 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. He returned to duty as the fourth official for a fixture between

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

on 25 November and refereed

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

's Premier League game at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

for his full return to the middle on 28 November 2012. 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".

2013–2015

Clattenburg refereed the 2013 FA Community Shield between

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium on 11 August 2013. United won the match 2–0. In October 2014 Clattenburg was stood down for one weekend following a

game for phoning manager

Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English former football manager and player. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed sixteen different clubs from the Premier League to ...

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). Clattenburg’s reasonings was that of attending an

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

gig later in the day.

2016

Clattenburg refereed the 2016 FA Cup Final, contested by

and

. The match went to extra-time and Manchester United won by a scoreline of 2–1. Clattenburg was selected as the referee of the

between

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

and

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based i ...

in Milan on 28 May. Real Madrid went on to win the match 5–3 after extra time and penalties. Clattenburg officiated at several matches at

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

. Late in a group match between the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the ...

, 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. Clattenburg went on to referee the UEFA Euro 2016 Final between

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on 10 July, which Portugal went on to win 1–0 after extra time.

Premier League exit

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 The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF, ar, الاتحاد العربي السعودي لكرة القدم) is the football governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, its responsibilities include administration of club competitions an ...

, replacing Howard Webb as the country's Head of Refereeing.

China

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

Leisure Leagues

In 2017, Clattenburg was announced as an Ambassador for

Leisure Leagues Leisure Leagues is an franchise of five and six-a-side football leagues primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. As of April 2017, the Leisure Leagues network had more than 3,000 leagues in the UK alone, which made it the l ...

agreeing to become their Head Referee 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. He was also there in 2019, as the World Cup went to Crete, refereeing with fellow former Premier League referee

Bobby Madley Robert Madley (born 6 October 1985) is an English professional football referee who was on the list of Select Group Referees who officiate primarily in the Premier League between 2013 and 2018. He officiated in the Football League as a refere ...

List of notable matches

Notable matches refereed by Clattenburg include: * 2012 Football League Cup Final * 2012 Olympics men's final * 2013 FA Community Shield *

2014 UEFA Super Cup The 2014 UEFA Super Cup was the 39th edition of the UEFA Super Cup, an annual football match organised by UEFA and contested by the reigning champions of the two main European club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa L ...

* 2016 FA Cup Final *

* UEFA Euro 2016 Final * 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup Final *2019 Chinese FA Cup Final 2nd leg final

Statistics

Match breakdown

Clattenburg refereed 297

matches, 37 in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

, 28 in the Champions League, 21 in the

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by t ...

, 4 in

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

, and 3 at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

Games and cards

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

Media work

Clattenburg joined the

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

commentary team for

Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europ ...

as their officiating and VAR expert. He expanded his role with ESPN to also work

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

and USMNT games.

Personal life

Clattenburg went to Cramlington Community High School and was chosen to play football for them, as well as South Northumberland. He is divorced from his wife with whom he lived in

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea ...

, and they had one son during the marriage.

Bibliography

References

External links

Mark Clattenburg Profile
at Refworld.com
Mark Clattenburg Referee Statistics
at

soccerbase ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 60 ...

.com
/ Mark Clattenburg {{DEFAULTSORT:Clattenburg, Mark 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from Consett English football referees National League (English football) referees English Football League referees Premier League referees UEFA Champions League referees UEFA Europa League referees Olympic football referees Football referees at the 2012 Summer Olympics UEFA Euro 2016 referees UEFA European Championship final referees FA Cup Final referees English autobiographers