Mark Clattenburg Assigned to Referee Liverpool vs. Manchester City Showdown
Mark Clattenburg has been handed the responsibility of refereeing Sunday's clash between Premier League title-challengers Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield.
With the match being billed as a potential title decider, it is a significant remark on Clattenburg's refereeing quality that he has been handed such an important match to officiate.
The decision was confirmed on the Premier League's official Twitter feed:
Clattenburg last took charge of a Liverpool game in their 3-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on March 16.
On that occasion, the County Durham-born referee made Premier League history as he awarded the Reds three penalties on United's home turf:
He also controversially sent off Red Devils captain Nemanja Vidic for a tackle on Daniel Sturridge in which the Serbian international seemingly did not make any contact, an idea echoed by the Telegraph's Henry Winter:
Despite this, Clattenburg's performances this season have been impressive and he has issued only two red cards from 23 games officiated, per the Premier League, while he has shown 79 yellow cards.
He has overseen Manchester City matches twice this season, an away draw for the Sky Blues at Stoke as well as a win at Swansea, while the only other Liverpool game he has taken charge of was an away win over Aston Villa, per BBC Sport.
| Referee | Matches | Yellow Cards | Red Cards |
| Martin Atkinson | 22 | 71 | 5 |
| Mark Clattenburg | 23 | 79 | 2 |
| Mike Dean | 22 | 88 | 5 |
| Phil Dowd | 22 | 99 | 2 |
| Roger East | 5 | 20 | 1 |
| Chris Foy | 20 | 54 | 6 |
| Kevin Friend | 16 | 51 | 2 |
| Michael Jones | 16 | 49 | 2 |
| Robert Madley | 5 | 17 | 1 |
| Andre Marriner | 23 | 66 | 7 |
| Lee Mason | 22 | 71 | 5 |
| Jonathan Moss | 20 | 69 | 3 |
| Michael Oliver | 24 | 88 | 3 |
| Craig Pawson | 9 | 26 | 0 |
| Lee Probert | 16 | 21 | 2 |
| Neil Swarbrick | 17 | 57 | 0 |
| Anthony Taylor | 18 | 64 | 3 |
| Howard Webb | 26 | 78 | 2 |
This will arguably be his most important game of the season as many people are billing it as a title decider with the winner likely to capture the Premier League.
However, as reported by Dominic King in the Daily Mail, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is not going quite that far:
"People are already asking whether it’s a title decider but for me that’s nonsense. There’s still a long way to go. It’s another big game and three points we need if we want to win this league. But it’s not a title decider.
"
The decision to choose Clattenburg is a blow for the league's most high-profile referee, Howard Webb.
He will be England's only representative at this summer's World Cup in Brazil, but he has been criticised this season for a run of bad decisions.
Webb officiated the 2010 World Cup final between the Netherlands and Spain and was criticised at the time for being far too lenient on the Dutch, who were perceived as being very aggressive.
Webb will have to perform well at this summer's global event if he is to regain his respectability among the elite officials both domestically and internationally.
Meanwhile, Clattenburg has the opportunity to confirm himself as the Premier League's top referee if he can put in a good performance on Sunday.
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