Mark Clattenburg has claimed referees are the “most hated species in football” after revealing constant nightmares made him quit.
Former Premier League referee Clattenburg says officials get death threats and the stress and worry over taking charge of big matches was affecting his mental health.
Clattenburg even admitted that he cannot even remember the biggest games of his career - the 2016 Champions League final and Euro 2016 final - because he was so worried about making a mistake.
"I left the Premier League three years ago and I still get abuse all the time - during lockdown they were showing old games and it recirculated a lot of abuse," Clattenburg told the BBC.
"When social media started to come in halfway through my career I didn't have any accounts so I didn't read it but it's always there. Some referees read it and it's hard to manage it.
"Referees are the most hated species in football, people vent their anger at them. It's a thankless job. That's a society issue as well, keyboard warriors who are faceless and can constantly abuse you. Some people find that hard to deal with. Nobody likes negativity.
"You make decisions in a split second and most of the time you are correct. If you get them wrong you are going to get death threats and social media abuse. These things go on in your head before you make those decisions.”
Clattenburg quit English football in 2017 and was a one of a number of high profile refs to leave the Premier League after Howard Webb and Mark Halsey who complained about a lack of support from their governing body the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited).
It has become a familiar theme which has led to a dumbing down on standards and officials in recent seasons to leave top flight refereeing at crisis point.
But Clattenburg admitted that he could no longer carry on because of the worry of making mistakes.
He added: "I did the Champions League final and the Euros final and I can't remember anything about them, I didn't enjoy them and that's sad now I've retired," he said.
"I just wanted to start the match and I wanted it to end. I was panicking about making a mistake. When it's watched by billions of people around the world there's no escape.
"I used to have nightmares on nights before games about making a mistake, missing a flight, there was so much anxiety.
"We get support, but it's an isolated industry - you are on your own a lot. Some of the journeys home from games were really tough if you had a performance that people didn't accept.”
Clattenburg also believes that VAR can help “save a referee’s career” but warned: “"The laws of the game are old and they are not compatible with technology. We need to change the laws for VAR. Offside needs looking at. We want goalscoring opportunities, goalmouth action.
"We need to come back down to what we all wanted VAR for - to stop the scandal decision. The decisions that we can't accept because the referee has missed it.
"We have got two big tournaments in the next two years, the Euros and the World Cup, so it has to work. Referees need it, it just needs to be improved so everyone can accept it.”
