MARK CLATTENBURG (ENGLAND) 2016
IFFHS AWARDS – THE WORLD’S BEST REFEREE 2016 : MARK CLATTENBURG (ENGLAND)
PRESENTATION
Mark Clattenburg, born 13 March 1975 in Consett, has made a great career in the Referee World (604 matches). FIFA listed from 2006 to 2017, the English Referee was on the Top of the World in 2016, when he was appointed to whistle the UEFA Champions League Final and the UEFA Euro Final, becoming the same year the winner of the IFFHS Award THE WORLD’S BEST REFEREE !
He began his Referee career in the Northern League at 18, first assistant then promoted to the National List of football League Referees in 2000. On 12 August 2000, he made his debut in the Football League for the match Chesterfield – York City. He was quickly chosen to referee play-off finals in the Division One before be promoted in the Premier League Group in 2004. At 29, he was nominated to whistle his first Premier League match the 21 August 2004 between Everton and Crystal Palace.
Clattenburg became FIFA Referee in 2006 until 2017, directing World Cup qualifications matches but not the FIFA World Cup Final groups. In UEFA, he refereed 35 Champions League games, 18 Europa League games, 5 UEFA Cups matches and his only great championship, the UEFA Euro 2016 (4 matches) . He was appointed to referee the UEFA Champions League final 2015/16 between Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid, the UEFA Super Cup 2014/15 final between Real Madrid and Sevilla FC , and the UEFA Euro 2016 Final between Portugal and France. He was selected to referee the final of the Olympic Games Tournament 2012 between Brazil and Mexico in London.
In England, Clattenburg directed 292 Premier League games, the EFL Cup Final 2011/12 (Cardiff-Liverpool), the Community Shield Final 2013/14 (Manchester United – Wigan) and the FA Cup Final 2015/16 (Crystal Palace – Manchester United). After 292 Premier League games and 152 other matches in England (FA Cup, First Division …), Clattenburg went as professional to Saudi Arabia in 2017 where he whistled 24 Saudi Professional League matches and other competitions in the country, the Saudi Crown Prince Cup 2016/17 (Al-Nassr – Ittihad) and the King’s Cup Final 2017/18 (Faisaly-Ittihad). He became there also the successor of Howard Webb to coach officials before going to China (2019) to become the Head of the Referee Division and Futures Development of Referees for the Chinese Super League. He refereed some matches like the Chinese FA Cup 2019 and oversees the league officials.