Mark Clattenburg resigns from Nottingham Forest role after VAR controversy as former referee issues statement

Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has confirmed he has resigned from his role as a refereeing consultant to Nottingham Forest.

The 49-year-old became the first official to be appointed to such a role back in February.

The decision to appoint Clattenburg was reportedly made by Forest in order to 'improve understanding and relationships' with match officials.

Since then, Forest have been involved in a number of significant controversies involving referees, not least during the 2-0 defeat to Everton last month.

In an unprecedented club statement posted on social media, Forest were heavily critical of the officiating team for not awarding them what they perceived to be three penalties.

Three extremely poor decisions - three penalties not given - which we simply cannot accept.

We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn’t change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times.

NFFC will now consider its options.

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) April 21, 2024

They also called into question the appointment of VAR official Stuart Attwell, on the basis that he is a supporter of their relegation rivals Luton Town.

In a column written for the Daily Mail, Clattenburg labelled the decisions made by the refereeing team not to award the penalties as a 'hat-trick of howlers' - words that reportedly did not go down well with his former employers.

Now, the veteran Premier League referee has announced his resignation.

He told the Daily Mail: "This is to announce that I will no longer be providing match analysis services to Nottingham Forest Football Club.

"Since February this year, I have been proud to have done so under a consultancy agreement between NFFC and Referee Consultant Ltd.

"I performed my services under the consultancy agreement in good faith, to the best of my abilities and in the hope of using my extensive experience as a match official to help NFFC understand how decisions in relation to key match officials are made amid the workings of VAR.

"However, it is now clear that the existence and performance of these consultancy services has caused unintended friction between NFFC and other participants, to the extent that it has become more of a hindrance than help to NFFC."

He also says he has received 'personally unmerited targeting' since taking over the role, which he claims is 'regrettable'.

"It [the role] has also led to the unmerited targeting of me, personally, by certain participants and pundits.

"Such reactions and outcome was not expected and is regrettable, as it is my sincere belief that there is a place for and value in such a role in the modern game.

"I am grateful to NFFC and wish them all the best during the remainder of the season and in the future. It's been an honour."

More to follow...