Mark Clattenburg's Ed Sheeran Dash Reportedly Prompts Premier League Axe
Referee Mark Clattenburg has reportedly been dropped from the upcoming round of Premier League games after he allegedly travelled alone to an Ed Sheeran concert after taking charge of West Brom's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
As detailed by Charles Sale of the Daily Mail, "Premier League regulations require the referee and his assistants to travel together to and from games for integrity and security purposes." Clattenburg allegedly didn't adhere to this after leaving the Hawthorns on Saturday and instead drove by himself to Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena in time for the gig.
Nick Sutton of BBC Radio posted The Sun's headline:
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
A report in The Guardian also claims Clattenburg broke protocol by speaking to Palace manager Neil Warnock in his car. This kind of contact is only allowed when assistants are present or special permission has been given by the Professional Game Match Officials.
"The PGMO do not want a situation between manager and referee which might escalate to being one version of a conversation against the other," noted Sale.
It is suggested Warnock wanted to discuss two incidents: Wilfried Zaha not being awarded a penalty and Craig Dawson's challenge. The latter controversy led to Crystal Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni being injured and conceding.
Clattenburg is expected to next step onto the pitch for a Champions League date after the upcoming round of Premier League fixtures. Henry Winter of The Daily Telegraph believes Clattenburg can be considered the nation's best referee:
The 39-year-old is certainly one of the division's most headline-grabbing officials. In 2012, he was cleared of using discriminatory language toward Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel. Ramires, Mikel's team-mate, made the accusation Clattenburg racially abused the Nigerian, but both the FA and police denied the Brazilian's claims after investigation.
Clattenburg missed four weeks' worth of refereeing during this incident, which concluded with Mikel being banned for three games after threatening the man from County Durham.
The upcoming round of Premier League fixtures includes some extremely interesting matches. Leading the way is the Manchester derby, as Louis van Gaal takes his United side to face City at the Etihad. Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers also meet at Stamford Bridge, while Newcastle look to extend their two-game winning streak by overcoming Liverpool at St. James' Park.
Should these reports be confirmed by the FA, it is unclear which match Clattenburg is set to miss. It also isn't stated who reported him for allegedly breaking conduct.
