Former referee Mark Clattenburg has strongly denied claims that he refused to send off a Leicester player because he wanted them to win the Premier League title in 2015/16.
Earlier this week, former Foxes defender Danny Simpson made the following comments about Clattenburg during an appearance on the Under the Cosh podcast.
He said: “I remember Clattenburg, mate. Wow. I think he should have sent someone away. He said something like, ‘I should have sent you there, but I want you to win.’
“Dude, that was crazy. That was crazy, you know, I swear to god. Good job there is no VAR but yes. I had to pretend I didn’t hear it. I was laughing my bollocks off inside and I thought, ‘Yeah, we’re doing this.’
Advert
“I think it was Drinky [Danny Drinkwater] actually. It was his second yellow or something and he could’ve easily sent him off but he didn’t.”
Simpson, who played an integral part in Leicester's historic Premier League title win, making 30 appearances, mentioned former England international Danny Drinkwater as the player who was allegedly involved.
But Clattenburg took charge of four matches Leicester games during the 2015/16 campaign and in that time, he did not book Drinkwater once.
In fact, the only booking he gave out during the title run-in was to defender Robert Huth, who was handed a yellow card during their 4-0 win against Swansea.
Clattenburg has since hit back at Simpson's claims and is now considering legal action.
"I fully deny the allegations made by Danny Simpson," the 47-year-old told the Daily Mail. "I find them preposterous. They are very serious and could question my integrity.
"To suggest I told a player that I wanted Leicester to win the league is ridiculous. It would have been picked up by our microphones.
"I did not book Danny Drinkwater during that season. His claims have absolutely no substance and I have no idea why, seven years later, he has chosen to say this. The matter is now with my lawyer."
During the podcast, Simpson also opened up about how an interaction with Cristiano Ronaldo helped his date with 'Miss California'.
After celebrating Leicester's incredible title win, Simpson was part of the Foxes squad that travelled to Los Angeles for a pre-season tour.
I'll let him tell the rest of the story.
"Meets Miss California right, start having dinner and I swear to god it was going w**k," Simpson said. "She must've been thinking: 'who's this lad, I can't understand what he's saying he's from Salford'.
"It was painful right, but anyway it weren't going great and I got a little tap on my shoulder. I've looked up and it's only (Cristiano) Ronaldo. He's gone 'Simmo' and I've gone 'Ronny!'
"I've got up and given him a little hug and that. Anyway we had a little chat because we're obviously in pre-season and he's won the Euros (with Portugal) so he's on an extended break."
Simpson added: "As soon as his interaction with Ronaldo finished, Simpson's fortunes changed dramatically and he claims his date's demeanor was very different.
"I've sat back down and she's gone 'how do you know Ronaldo?'
"I've played it down and said 'I used to play with him' like it was nothing. From that second she completely changed.
"Honestly it was literally a completely different person all because Ronaldo said hello to me so cheers Ronny."
Topics: Leicester City, Mark Clattenburg, Danny Drinkwater, Premier League
Jack Kenmare