Refereeing consultant Mark Clattenburg has resigned, according to Nottingham Forest.
As the refereeing consultant for Nottingham Forest, Mark Clattenburg has resigned.
Since taking on the unusual position in February, the former Premier League referee has been the subject of criticism and controversy. This season, Forest has publicly criticized a number of decisions that have gone against them, most notably the one made after they were defeated 2-0 by Everton last month.
“Three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept,” wrote Forest’s official X account following the game. Before the match, we informed the PGMOL that the VAR supports Luton, but they chose not to replace him. Many times, our patience has been put to the test. NFFC will now examine its alternatives.” An FA investigation into the post has been launched, and Clattenburg has intensified her criticism of it.
“Even one of these mistakes would have been disastrous,” he stated in his Daily Mail piece. “Three was a joke, which is why Nottingham Forest felt like victims following another loss in which none of their crucial decisions worked out.”
After losing four points for breaking the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules, Forest is now two points clear of Luton Town and the relegation zone.
Following the incident, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville made a public request for Clattenburg to step down. Additionally, the former referee—who supports Newcastle United—has officially announced his resignation.
Forest and other participants, according to Clattenburg, have experienced “unintended friction” as a result of his presence.
Clattenburg released the following statement, which was put up on the Nottingham Forest website: “This is to announce that I will no longer be providing match analysis services to NFFC.”
“I have been pleased to work under a consulting arrangement between NFFC and Referee Consultant Ltd. since February of this year.
“To the best of my skills and with the hopes of leveraging my significant expertise as a match official to help NFFC understand how decisions in regard to critical match incidents are made amid the workings of VAR, I conducted my duties under the consultant agreement in good faith.
But it’s now evident that the presence and operation of these consulting services have unintentionally strained relations between NFFC and other players to the point where they are now more of a burden than a benefit to NFFC. It has also resulted in some participants and pundits unfairly singling me out for personal attacks.
I sincerely believe that such a job has a place and importance in the modern game, thus it is unfortunate that such emotions and the outcome were not what I had anticipated.
“NFFC has my gratitude and my best wishes for the rest of the season and the future. It has been a privilege.