Chelsea fans have every right to be enraged by Mark Clattenburg

Mark Clattenburg has claimed that he had prepared “a gameplan” so that he would not be blamed for Tottenham’s self-destruction against Chelsea. Blues fans should be angered by these comments.

In the modern world of football, the job of a referee is never easy. Especially if the official’s game features a big team like Chelsea. His every action is scrutinised by former referees, pundits and fans. As a result, there are discussions about the official’s involvement in almost every match, let alone a high-profile encounter.

Mark Clattenburg officiated the highly controversial clash between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge in 2015-16. “The battle of the Bridge” was a must-win encounter for Spurs to stay in the title race.

Referees have played their part in a few of Chelsea’s high-profile matches in the past. Every Chelsea fan remembers the role Clattenburg played in Chelsea’s controversial loss to Manchester United in the 2012-13 campaign. Two Blues were sent off and a winner was scored from an offside position.

Clatten-Gate: Chelsea fans outraged Mark Clattenburg knows his job better than they do

So there is no surprise Chelsea fans are enraged by Clattenburg’s claims that he allowed Spurs to self-destruct – in other words lose their control. Anyone who had watched the match would acknowledge that only a healthy dose of luck prevented any Chelsea player from being injured.

An impartial referee would have stuck to protocol and red-carded a Spurs player to warn his team-mates about such actions. A referee being blind to such horrendous tackles gives confidence to his team-mates to do the same. A similar situation occurred against Barcelona in the 2009 Champions League semi-final. The Catalans were repeatedly fouling and even handling the ball inside the penalty area.

A referee should prioritise the players’ safety ahead of him not being in the news the next day. What if Eric Dier’s tackle on Eden Hazard had broken his ankle? In no other match would Danny Rose escape after stamping on Willian’s hand. If Clattenburg had laid down the law, the fight at the end would have been avoided. The Tottenham players would have been more careful.

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Sure, nobody talked about Clattenburg after the match. It was all about how Spurs bottled it. But that’s not how the fans want a referee to officiate a high-profile tie. There is no difference between him a school teacher who allows his/her kids to fight each other rather than reprimanding them. Even though no one was injured, that’s not the point. It could have been worse.