Republic of Ireland star James McClean has been labelled the worst diver legendary referee Mark Clattenburg has come across.
The former ref has opened up on an incident that left him 'wound-up' after the Derry native was booked for diving.
When asked who was the worst diver in the game, Clattenburg answered McClean before describing the dive during a Play-off semi-final match between Wigan Athletic and Queens Park Rangers in May of 2014.
He told Paddy Power : “They were winning 1-0, and he went to go around Rob Green, and he had a great position. I seen him dive.
“So, as he went over, he’s looking for the penalty and appealing for the penalty.
“I gave him the yellow card for diving and he just turns around to me and says, 'So what, I’m a winger, it’s only a yellow card'."
Clattenburg reckons that diving in football should be punished more severely than it currently is, citing the incident with the Ireland winger as an example.
“He (McClean) was right, If I’d given the penalty I would’ve been crucified, and he only got a yellow card.
“That used to wind me up as a ref because you’d be like ‘Hold on, there should be more punishment for diving because it’s the worst thing in football'”.
