Top English
Premier League Referee, Mark Clattenburg is set to leave the EPL to join the
the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF)
Clattenburg’s
decision was announced by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited
(PGGMOL) on Thursday. He is considered as one of the highest-rated official of
the PGGMOL.
According to AS
report, Clattenburg has been the subject of speculation in recent months after
admitting he could – like many star European players – be lured away from
England by an offer from the Chinese Super League.
He has refereed
a number of notable matches, including the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final and
the UEFA Euro 2016 Final.
Clattenburg
took up refereeing in 1990 as part of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award 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, 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
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 final.
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, 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.
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.
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.
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 wins by Everton against Crystal Palace on 21 August
of the same year.
Clattenburg
became a FIFA referee in 2006, at the age of 30, two years after turning
professional.
He refereed
Alan Shearer’s testimonial match on 11 May 2006; he is a Newcastle United 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 in Skopje between Macedonia and Denmark;
the away side winning 3–0.
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