Mark Clattenburg has spoken out for the first time about Nottingham Forest’s statement following their loss to Everton on Sunday. The statement is currently under investigation by the FA.
Mark Clattenburg, the former Premier League referee, has strongly criticized the officiating during Nottingham Forest’s recent 2-0 defeat to Everton. He referred to the penalty decisions against Forest, where he currently works, as “a hat-trick of howlers.” Forest expressed their frustration with what they perceived as three overlooked penalty incidents through a strongly-worded statement on their social media platforms after the match. The statement accused the officials of making “extremely poor decisions” and implied bias, mentioning a supposed affiliation of the VAR with Luton. The Football Association is now looking into the matter.
Clattenburg, who joined Forest as a ‘referee analyst’ in February, has further detailed his dissatisfaction with the performance of match referee Anthony Taylor and VAR Stuart Attwell, both of whom are former colleagues.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Clattenburg expressed his frustration, stating: “One error would have been bad enough. Three was a farce, leaving Nottingham Forest feeling aggrieved after yet another defeat where no significant decisions went their way. This match against Everton was one of the bleakest they’ve faced this season due to poor refereeing.”
The three penalty incidents included Ashley Young’s challenge on Giovanni Reyna going unnoticed, a handball appeal from a Callum Hudson-Odoi cross being dismissed, and no action taken for Young’s challenge on Hudson-Odoi.
Reflecting on these incidents, Clattenburg remarked: “These situations are exactly why video technology was introduced in the Premier League. Yet, Attwell never instructed Taylor to review the incidents on the monitor, not even once. It was a series of glaring errors from the officiating team, continuing an unfair pattern that has hindered Forest’s fight for survival.”
Clattenburg also expressed concern over the decision to assign Attwell as VAR, citing allegations that the 41-year-old supports Luton Town, a club in direct competition with Forest to avoid relegation. He stated, “I wouldn’t have risked this scenario,” implying potential bias in Attwell’s decisions.
Clattenburg continued, emphasizing that referees don’t intentionally make mistakes, but the magnitude of errors in this case was astonishing. He questioned why Attwell didn’t instruct Taylor to review the incidents on the screen, a decision only Attwell can explain.
He suggested that the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) could acknowledge the errors, and the Key Match Incident panel might concede that Forest should have been awarded three penalties. Clattenburg also mentioned Howard Webb’s potential explanation on his Match Officials Mic’d Up television show with Michael Owen. However, he concluded that while all these discussions might occur, they wouldn’t change Nottingham Forest’s situation.
Gary Neville has urged Mark Clattenburg to step down from his position at Forest following Clattenburg’s apparent questioning of a match official’s integrity. Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville stated, “Mark Clattenburg must resign tonight. If he saw those words questioning the integrity of a referee and accusing someone of supporting another club as a cheat, then he’s endorsing what’s being said.” Neville emphasized that Clattenburg’s credibility with referees would be compromised if he remained associated with such statements. He suggested that Clattenburg should resign immediately and disassociate himself from the contentious statement.