19 February 2024 , 19:09
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Mark Clattenburg admits he's "disappointed" with Gary Neville's comments surrounding his new role at Nottingham Forest - suggesting there's a fair degree of hypocrisy to it.
The former Premier League official has picked up work at the City Ground as their new referee analyst. His role will see Clattenburg watch Forest matches and advise the club on whether decisions were correct, if it was a subjective decision or not as well as how to best handle any frustrations they may have.
He will also been in contact with PGMOL chief Howard Webb should Forest need to raise any frustration. Despite that his new employment has been described by Neville as "a step too far", which has forced Clattenburg to come out and defend his decision.
He told The Times : “I am disappointed that Gary Neville has come out with what he said. His employer, Sky Sports, employs ex-referees to help fans and viewers understand the Laws of the Game, and Nottingham Forest are just doing the same.”
Clattenburg refereed 291 Premier League matches across 13 seasons with officiating coming under the microscope like never before. VAR has copped major criticism for some high profile blunders whilst Webb is now coming out on TV to explain certain controversial decisions.
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Neville though believes the standard has improved in recent weeks and has questioned what Clattenburg could offer Forest that any normal football fan couldn't when it comes to poor refereeing decisions.
The pundit said: “Honestly, I think - for a start over the last four of five weeks we haven't talked too much about VAR. There's been the odd decision here and there but it's actually got a lot better in the last five to six weeks. There haven't been many decisions that have been that bad in my opinion.
Gary Neville raised issues with the appointment (PA)"Every team will whinge when they get a bad decision, we used to do whinge all the time. But what is Mark Clattenburg doing? I’ve worked with Mark. What are you doing? You’re being employed to go and tell a football club how referees are making mistakes or what mistakes they’re making.
"I mean, it's plainly obvious. A fan in the crowd could go and tell you exactly what a referee is thinking."
Webb has maintained that VAR is here to stay despite the issues faced by the system so far this season. He stated that it: 'Would be foolish to take away a tool that can remove clear errors from the game - almost 40 this season."
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