Dropping a Clattenburg

From time to time it has been suggested that Mark Clattenburg is one of the Premiership’s brightest young referees, but after their game against Portsmouth at Fratton Park it is extremely doubtful whether Sir Alex Ferguson, his players and the vast majority of Manchester United fans would subscribe to this theory.

Clattenburg’s approach to his job suggests that he is a graduate of the Uriah Rennie School of Refereeing, which is not recommended since the predominant feature is an apparent determination on the part of the official to apply a set of ‘laws’ of his own invention.

Within the first eight minutes alone, Clattenburg contrived to ignore three challenges by Portsmouth players which according to the Laws of Association Football should have been designated as fouls. On one occasion he watched from a distance of no more than 7 yards as a United player was blatantly pushed and gave nothing, and when Hughes hammered into Ronaldo in the 28th minute, a challenge which was a clear yellow card offence, he merely signalled a free kick.

There’s no way of telling whether this kind of behaviour stems from incompetence or some misguided notion that since football is a ‘man’s game’ (even in a country where girls’ and women’s football is arguably the fastest growing sport) ignoring all but the most vicious fouls is necessary in order to reinforce the macho image. But we can be certain of two things. First, if Mark Clattenburg is an outstanding referee, it is not for the right reasons. And second, what the professional game is crying out for is consistency from officials, not maverick interpretations of the laws.