Mark Clattenburg Reveals His First Interaction With Roy Keane, Naturally He Sh*t Himself

Mark Clattenburg has detailed his experience refereeing in the Premier League, including revealing his first encounter with Manchester United's Roy Keane.

The former top flight ref now has a gig in Saudi Arabia, but he's shared his reign in England which saw him officiate his first Premier League match at the tender age of 29.

_{Clattenburg in charge of a Premier League game. Image: PA}

Speaking on NBC's Men In Blazers podcast via Balls, he described his upbringing to becoming a referee, while admitting he lacked the man management skills.

"I probably lacked man management. I didn't have management experience because I was still a young boy. I hadn't had that employment background. I didn't have any experience of dealing with people, managing people, saying the right thing at the right time," Clattenburg said.

"It's only when I got older that I started to develop those skills. When you have those skills, you interact with adults better, players better. If you interact with players, they make your life easier. When they make your life easier, you become a good referee.

Then his story about the fiery Irishman. "Even in the Premier League, I still smile at the first time I came across Roy Keane. He screamed at us for a corner and I'm sure it was a goal kick but because he screamed at us so loudly, I gave a corner, I was that petrified of him.

_{Clattenburg refereeing back in 2005. Images: PA}

Additionally, talking about his role as the 'darling' to clubs and media.

Clattenburg added: "When I was in the Football League, I was not ready at 24 or 25. I was about to be elevated to the Premier League at 28 and knew I wasn't ready and needed that one more season to gain more experience.

"When I got to the Premier League, players liked my style, I liked to talk. I was a typical northern person who would prefer to speak [rather] than dish out cards. The players loved us.

"When I got into the Premier League, it was like breath of fresh air - the clubs, the media, I was their darling. It was like, 'Woah, this is something different.' This is something that they wanted a referee to be like, they wanted someone to manage to game rather than just give out yellow cards.

Topics: Manchester United, Mark Clattenburg, Roy Keane

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado, and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Michael Bisping and Anthony Joshua. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

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