Mark Clattenburg has opened up on what it was like to referee some of the best Newcastle United players in recent history.
The man who refereed the 2016 Champions League final grew up in Durham and has never made any secret of his support for the Magpies.
Because of that, he was never allowed to officiate a game involving his boyhood club but he did take charge of games involving ex-Newcastle players after they had left St James’ Park.
One of those players was Craig Bellamy, a player notorious amongst referees for being a nightmare and one of the five most annoying players to officiate, according to Clattenburg.
In the most recent edition of FourFourTwo magazine, the former Premier League official explained his relationship with the ex-Magpies forward.
“I used to idolise him when he played for my club, Newcastle,” admitted Clattenburg.
“I used to love watching him. But it was one of my biggest disappointments when he left, as that meant I had to referee him! He’d argue about everything and we’re both strong-willed guys.
“I incorrectly sent him off for Manchester City against Bolton, which I regret. To this day, he’s not let that go. We had a love-hate relationship, to say the least.”
It sounds as though that particular bond is more hate than it is love but that is hardly surprising considering Bellamy’s reputation as someone almost impossible to officiate.
He was not the only former Newcastle player that Clattenburg had a story about and when he was asked if any other players expected preferential treatment, the 46-year-old former referee responded: “Kevin Nolan did at West Ham.
“I sent him off at Fulham over Christmas. Correctly, too – it was an off-the-ball incident.
“After the game he said, “OK, I should have been sent off, but I did score a hat-trick for Newcastle against Sunderland once. You could have let me off.”
Despite being unable to be in charge of competitive Newcastle matches, Clattenburg was able to referee one match at St James’ Park.
He was the man in the middle for Alan Shearer’s testimonial in May 2006 but we have a sneaky suspicion that he would have rather been one of the players wearing the black and white shirt that day.
