- NEW PODCAST: Mark Clattenburg reveals the match he got ‘completely wrong’ – death threats, red cards and regret on the latest Whistleblowers
From missing a blatant penalty call to appearing to take instructions from Steven Gerrard, Mark Clattenburg has described his first Merseyside derby as the worst refereeing performance of his decades-long career.
He said the 2007 clash at Goodison Park felt ‘like a war’ that he was mentally unprepared for.
Clattenburg told the Daily Mail’s Whistleblowers podcast his mistake was assuming the ‘ferocious’ Merseyside derby would be similar in atmosphere to the Manchester or London derbies he had previously refereed.
The former official said he received death threats after the match and wasn’t allocated an Everton game for six years following his nervy performance.
‘There’s one game I wish I could referee again’, Clattenburg revealed.
‘I was a young referee. I was only one year into my Premier League career, but I had already been given Manchester United-City and the North London derby the previous week.
Mark Clattenburg has described his first Merseyside derby as the worst refereeing performance of his decades-long career
Clattenburg said the 2007 clash at Goodison Park felt ‘like a war’ that he was mentally unprepared for
The former official said he received death threats after the match and wasn’t allocated an Everton game for six years following his nervy performance
‘I was appointed to referee Everton-Liverpool at Goodison. I am not using this as an excuse, but I had never experienced that type of derby before.
‘It was ferocious. This was a working-class derby, and I got it completely wrong.’
The match saw Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool come from behind to beat David Moyes’s Everton 2-1.
Everton led at the break after defender Sami Hyypia turned the ball into his own net.
The game turned on its head in the second half when Clattenburg sent off two Everton players and awarded Liverpool two penalties.
The referee recounted: ‘I sent off two Everton players. One, the Everton fans thought I changed my mind because of Steven Gerrard.
‘He walked past the camera when I was changing from a yellow to a red card… but it was always a red card for Tony Hibbert.
‘It looked like Gerrard said something to me, and I had changed my mind. That obviously never happened. I also sent off Phil Neville for a handball on the line.
‘The worst mistake I made was near the end of the game. I don’t know what was going on in my mind.
‘Jamie Carragher pulled down Joleon Lescott for an easy penalty. If I had given it, Everton had the chance to equalise.
Clattenburg admitted he learned the hard way about managing the optics of his decisions, not just their accuracy
Mark Clattenburg: ‘The North London derby was a football match. This was a war.’
‘In the eyes of Everton, I had made three big errors – all the big decisions seemed to go in Liverpool’s favour.’
Clattenburg admitted he learned the hard way about managing the optics of his decisions, not just their accuracy.
‘After the game, I received death threats. I didn’t referee an Everton game for six years afterwards’, the referee told podcast co-host Ian Ladyman.
‘I learnt a lot from that game, how to understand a match, how to balance the emotions of a big derby.
‘The North London derby was a football match. This was a war. I lost control. I lost my ability to make decisions.
‘I was a young referee, and I did recover. I refereed Everton years later for some amazing matches. Beating Manchester City 4-0, Moyes’s last game.
‘But people only remember that one moment – football fans never forgive you. It doesn’t matter how many good decisions you go on to make.’
To hear Mark’s full account of the derby he wishes he could referee again, search for Whistleblowers, wherever you get your podcasts.
