Mark Clattenburg off weekend's refereeing list

Oct 23 2007

MARK CLATTENBURG has been struck off this weekend’s Premier League fixture list – but is yet to acknowledge his Merseyside derby mistakes.

Officials have also refused to confirm that the referee was left out of the next set of top flight matches on the back of his performance at Goodison Park.

A spokesman for the Professional Game Match Officials organisation said: “All match officials’ performances are constantly monitored and assessed, with subsequent appointments being made on that basis.”

That stance is in stark contrast to when Rob Styles was stood down from the following weekend’s matches after admitting he awarded Chelsea an erroneous penalty against Liverpool at Anfield which enabled the London team to earn a 1-1 draw.

Styles apologised to Liverpool after the Chelsea penalty, which also brought public criticism from his PGMO boss Keith Hackett. But Clattenburg has not yet owned up to any culpability and PGMO boss Keith Hackett is staying quiet on the issue.

There are 19 top referees belonging to the elite group who are appointed to Premier League matches which number a maximum of just 10 every weekend.

And Clattenburg, who was promoted to the elite list three years ago when he was just 30, is also in charge of the Lokomotiv Moscow v Atletico Madrid clash in the UEFA Cup on Thursday – another reason why Premier League referees are sometimes given the following weekend off.

But before the controversial derby, the Newcastle official had previously been considered one of the top officials in the game and had been handed a series of high-profile matches.