Yahoo News Mark Clattenburg drops Nottingham Forest bombshell as Gary Neville gets his way
Mark Clattenburg has announced he has stepped down from his role as referee analyst at Nottingham Forest.
The former official was appointed as match and performance analyst for the Reds in February. He was brought in with the aim of helping the club understand why certain decisions were made amid several key decisions going against Forest.
But in the wake of the fallout from last month’s controversial defeat to Everton, Clattenburg has resigned from his post. It comes after the club released a furious statement after the full-time whistle at Goodison Park expressing their fury at having three penalty appeals turned down.
READ MORE: Forest could be waiting even longer for points deduction verdict as no news is not good
READ MORE: Nuno sets out Forest points deduction expectation as appeal decision due
Forest accused VAR Stuart Attwell of being a fan of relegation rivals Luton Town, and Clattenburg went on to criticise a “hat-trick of howlers” in the game in his column for the Daily Mail. Before his column was published, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville had urged the 49-year-old to quit his role at Forest in order to distance himself from the club’s stance. Clattenburg has now done so, saying he feels he had become “more hindrance than help” to the Reds.
Clattenburg told the Daily Mail: “This is to announce that I will no longer be providing match analysis services to Nottingham Forest Football Club. Since February this year, I have been proud to have done so under a consultancy agreement between NFFC and Referee Consultant Ltd.
“I performed my services under the consultancy agreement in good faith, to the best of my abilities and in the hope of using my extensive experience as a match official to help NFFC understand how decisions in relation to key match incidents are made amid the workings of VAR. However, it is now clear that the existence and performance of these consultancy services has caused unintended friction between NFFC and other participants, to the extent that it has become more of a hindrance than help to NFFC.
“It has also led to the unmerited targeting of me, personally, by certain participants and pundits. Such reactions and outcome was not expected and is regrettable, as it is my sincere belief that there is a place for and value in such a role in the modern game.
“I am grateful to NFFC and wish them all the best during the remainder of the season and in the future. It’s been an honour.”
In the wake of Forest's statement after defeat to Everton, Neville had said before Clattenburg's column was published: "Mark Clattenberg must resign tonight. If he saw those words go out in which question the integrity of a referee and claims someone is a cheat for supporting another club, then he's supporting what is being said. He would lose all credibility with referees in the game. He should stand down tonight and distance himself from that statement."
