Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has opened up on the difficulty of officiating former Newcastle forward Craig Bellamy.
Clattenburg, a lifelong Newcastle United fan, enjoyed a successful career as a Premier League official between 2004 and 2017 and established himself as the leading referee in English football.
The 46-year-old was appointed as referee for both the finals of the 2015/16 Champions League and EURO 2016 before stepping away from top-level officiating in 2017.
But despite being such a respected official, Clattenburg did have to deal with a few problematic players during his time at the top.
And while appearing on Jamie Carragher's The Greatest Game podcast, Clattenburg revealed that ex-Magpies forward, Bellamy, was right up there.
"I have always said Craig Bellamy was one," Clattenburg said when asked who the hardest players to referee were.
"I just couldn't engage with him and he is probably a great guy but me and him on the pitch just never hit it off.
"It was probably my own daft fault as well because I sent him off against Bolton playing for Man City and I gave him a second booking for diving and he had actually got clipped when I watched it back.
"So he shouldn't have been sent off but his first yellow card was for dissent which it normally was his first yellow.
"The next time he seen me, he nipped me and gave me a little rabbit punch just joking on. But I just couldn't engage with him.
"When I couldn't engage with people I would bite sometimes and when you are in the heat of the battle I bit and it was probably the worst thing to do, biting in front of Craig Bellamy."
You can listen to the full Greatest Game podcast episode with Clattenburg, here.
