The Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has pulled out of the management agency Catalyst4Soccer over concerns about a possible conflict of interests.
The agency also represents top professional players and there were worries within the referees’ governing body, Professional Game Match Officials Ltd, over how the arrangement may have been perceived.
It is understood Clattenburg had been granted permission in principle by the PGMOL to gain help in managing his off-field activities such as after-dinner speaking and charity appearances, but the body is believed to have been unaware it would involve an agency also representing players. Catalyst4Soccer had tweeted the news about his signing.
Among Catalyst4Soccer’s clients is the Manchester City goalkeeper Willy Caballero, who was on the bench for his side’s defeat to Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Valentine’s Day.
Clattenburg, 40, refereed that game and was at the centre of controversy after he awarded a penalty to Spurs having judged Raheem Sterling to have been guilty of a handball, something replays cast considerable doubt over.
A spokesman for the referees’ governing body said: “Mark has decided not to work with the agency and as far as PGMOL is concerned that is the end of the matter.”
