If a referee has a football game named after them it's a pretty safe bet it's because they've done something highly controversial. And so it told in October 2007 in a typically-fiery Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton. The Reds were the beneficiaries of a number of blunders from referee Mark Clattenburg, including a contentious red card for Toffees right-back Tony Hibbert. After upending Steven Gerrard in the penalty area, Clattenburg appeared to be reaching for a yellow card until a quiet word in the ear from the Liverpool captain persuaded him to dish out a straight red instead. Later, Dirk Kuyt got away with a waist-high, two footed lunge on Phil Neville while Everton were denied a stone-wall penalty after Jamie Carragher dropped Joleon Lescott in the box. Everton manager David Moyes fumed at a 'blatant injustice' at full-time while Neville went one further and claimed some referees are awestruck when dealing with some of the leagues top players. Clattenburg was suspended for the following weekend of Premier League fixtures and didn't officiate a single Everton game for the next five years, until 2012's encounter with Aston Villa.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
