British football referee Mark Clattenburg has been suspended by the Football Association after he breached protocol and travelled alone to the West Bromwich and Crystal Palace match — so he could return to Newcastle in time for an Ed Sheeran concert that evening!
Looks like we’re not the only one who’s extremely excited to catch Ed Sheeran live… (Photo by EPA)
According to ESPNFC.com, the FA’s rules states that referees must travel to and from games with their assistants for security and integrity purposes. And because he made his way to The Hawthorns stadium on his own, he has been banned from refereeing any Premier League matches this weekend.
That’s a red card for you, mister! (Photo by AFP)
But that’s not all… Clattenburg allegedly spoke to Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock on the phone while heading back after the game, which once again, violates Premier League rules.
They are only allowed to speak to the managers with the presence of their assistants or when given the green light by the Professional Game Match Officials.
It’s not the first time Clattenburg has caught up in controversy. Remember, this is the same guy who allegedly told Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana (then with Southampton) during a match that he had changed since he was called up by the England national side.
He also allegedly once asked Manchester City staff at half-time: “How do you work with Craig Bellamy all week?”
There was also a racism storm involving Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel, who lodged an official complaint through his club over the use of racist language by Clattenburg. Clattenburg was cleared of the charges.
Manchester United fans, however, might remember him as the referee who disallowed Pedro Mendes’ (then of Tottenham Hotspur) spectacular goal from the halfway line, which video replays clearly showed had crossed the line before United keeper Roy Carroll (remember him?) clawed it out of the goal.
Anyway, we can definitely relate to how excited Clattenburg was to watch Ed Sheeran, cos we here at R.AGE all went crazy once we heard he will be coming to Malaysia!
The 23-year-old British singer-songwriter, who has two albums (+ and x) and a number of awards under his belt, is set to serenade fans at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on March 16 2015.
So what are you waiting for, fellow Sheerios? It’s time to break out those piggy banks as tickets go on sale from Nov 8 at RM285 and RM355. Yes, that’s NEXT weekend! For more information, log on to PR Worldwide or call 03-7483 3022.
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