Clattenburg axed from the game

Mark Clattenburg was widely regarded as the brightest young talent in English football refereeing, a handsome, charismatic Geordie who soared through the ranks in record time and looked destined for fame on the greatest stages.

The 33-year-old from Gosforth, Newcastle, began officiating aged 15 as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, and enjoyed a meteoric rise, taking charge of his first Football League match in 2000 aged just 25, a post-war record. In 2004, he was promoted to elite level in England, contracted full-time to the referees' governing body, PGMOL, on a salary of £75,000 a year, to specialise in Premier League games.

Since 2001, when professionalism was introduced, PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) has been responsible for a pool of 78 officials who work in English professional football. Just 19 of them are salaried, paid big money to oversee games featuring star-studded clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, and Mr Clattenburg was among them.

In 2006, while still just 30, life got better still when he was also appointed to the refereeing roster of Fifa, football's world governing body, to take charge of prestigious international matches. He was the youngest Englishman ever elevated to that level.

But last night, Mr Clattenburg's career was in tatters after he was sacked from his job as a Premier League match official after an inquiry into his financial affairs.

He denies any wrongdoing and will appeal his dismissal, and there is no suggestion that he has been involved in any activities related to corruption within football.

But in a cautionary tale that highlights the extraordinary level of transparency required from modern referees, and the intense scrutiny of their lives, on and off the pitch, it appears that the divorced father of one took his eye off the ball when it came to his terms of employment.

Well-placed sources say he was sacked for breach of contract arising from failing to disclose in full or on time details about debts relating to businesses he ran as an electrician, his former trade.

He was initially suspended last August when his bosses received emails alleging he had secret debts of up to £175,000 and that he had sent an allegedly threatening email to a business associate. In separate, anonymous correspondence, allegations were also made about his private life.

Following a five-month investigation, during which Mr Clattenburg has consistently protested his innocence, he was called in to see the PGMOL hierarchy last week and told he was sacked.

PGMOL declined to confirm that Mr Clattenburg has also been told he will never work as a professional referee in England again but a spokesman effectively confirmed the sacking and the appeal by saying: "The disciplinary procedure is still ongoing, therefore it would be inappropriate for us to offer any further comment at this time."

High levels of transparency are required from referees in an era when match-fixing and corrupt officials have blighted leagues around the world. Most infamously in recent years, a German referee, Robert Hoyzer, was sent to prison in 2005 for his role in a match-fixing scandal in which several officials were paid by Croatian gambling syndicates to rig games in Germany.

The potential dangers of corruption in modern sport were also highlighted last year when the Central Council of Physical Recreation, the umbrella group for 270 sports governing bodies in the UK, published a report into the risks posed to the integrity of sport by corrupt betting. It said: "Referees are an obvious focus for betting rings to consider."

And while English football has never been affected by any substantiated claims of "bent" officials, at any level, Mr Clattenburg has, it seems, now fallen foul of contractual requirements put in place to help ensure no such claims will ever prove to be true.

His professional life was first thrown into turmoil in the week before the Community Shield match between Manchester United and Portsmouth, staged at Wembley on 10 August last year and scheduled to be refereed by Mr Clattenburg.

On 7 August, the allegedly threatening email sent by Mr Clattenburg to an associate was brought to the attention of PGMOL, as were details of alleged business debts, and he was suspended.

Mr Clattenburg's business interests centred on two companies. MC Electrical Services Ltd was placed in receivership last year and was subject to legal action over a claim of debts to another firm, Jarel UK, of £5,530.83. MC Electrical Retail Ltd was wound up by the official receiver with an alleged outstanding debt of more than £71,000, although Mr Clattenburg's total debts were alleged to be higher.

In August, when these claims first arose, along with claims about Mr Clattenburg's personal life, PGMOL suspended him. A PGMOL statement said: "[We] are aware of media reports concerning alleged debts incurred by companies connected to referee Mark Clattenburg. It has been decided he will not officiate any matches pending enquiries into the background to these reports.

"It is in the best interests of Mark Clattenburg and the game that these reports are fully investigated and, during that time, he will not referee any matches. Mark is one of England's leading referees and we hope to resolve this matter swiftly."

Also in August, a few hours after Mr Clattenburg had appeared at Newcastle County Court in the case related to Jarel UK debt, his £40,000 Porsche, parked outside his home, sustained thousands of pounds of damage when it was sprayed with paint.

Susan Clegg, 35, a former partner of Mr Clattenburg, was questioned by police, but in November was told she would face no action and her solicitor, Brian Hegarty, said: "Miss Clegg denied responsibility and fully co-operated with the police, informing them of her whereabouts when the offence was alleged to have occurred."

Most of Mr Clattenburg's on-field activities have been no more or less scrutinised than those of other officials. But one erratic performance – when officiating a Merseyside derby in October 2007 – led to death threats.

In the match, when Liverpool beat Everton 2-1 at Everton's ground, Mr Clattenburg sent off two Everton players, gave Liverpool a disputed penalty and turned down two penalty appeals from Everton. After the game, his life was threatened by Everton fans, some of whom also contributed to a online petition to PGMOL to have Mr Clattenburg sacked. It received more than 3,000 signatures.

Mr Clattenburg was dropped from the PGMOL rota for one round of games but it must be stressed that being dropped is not unusual for a referee after perceived errors on high-pressure occasions. And when he returned to action he was widely regarded as being on course to re-establish his reputation as his profession's golden boy.

Turbulent though Mr Clattenburg's life has been in recent years, the attention heaped upon him only reflects the exposure to abuse and pressure on top referees.

In 2004, the Swiss referee, Urs Meier, became the focus of a hate campaign – orchestrated by The Sun newspaper – by England supporters after he disallowed a goal by Sol Campbell against Portugal in the Euro 2004 quarter-finals. His personal details were published and he received thousands of abusive emails, and death threats, and was placed under police protection.

What Mr Clattenburg must now realise is that what he does away from a football pitch is scrutinised as much as what he does on it. He is understood to be indignant about losing his job, and while he was unavailable for comment yesterday, he is believed to stand by a statement he made in September, which said: "Every allegation that has been put against me, I have proved all the evidence against it. And I'll do exactly the same again. I'm innocent."

***Article re-published from The Independent Newspapers Ltd.