Mark Clattenburg has opened up on the lengths Sir Alex Ferguson would go to in a bid to gain an edge when it came to refereeing decisions during his time at Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson shouts at Mark Clattenburg
Sir Alex Ferguson was a menacing figure during his time at Manchester United(Image: 2013 Manchester United FC)
Mark Clattenburg has disclosed a rather bold interaction with Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand, involving a message for Sir Alex Ferguson peppered with expletives, as a counter to the iconic manager's mind games.
The former top-flight referee, who officiated in the Premier League for 13 years before his 2017 departure, has had quite the journey since. Post-Premier League, Clattenburg, 50, took up the whistle in China, Greece, and Egypt, only to return to England in February 2024 as a refereeing consultant for Nottingham Forest.
However, his tenure was brief; he stepped down mere months later following controversial comments about refereeing decisions in a loss to Everton, which he branded a "joke" in his Mail on Sunday column.
Clattenburg also shed light on his experiences during an appearance on The Overlap's Fan Debate, hosted by Jamie Carragher and Paul Scholes. There, he recounted how Ferguson would seek to impact referees, and how he once instructed Ferdinand to deliver a fiery retort to the Scottish manager's pressure tactics.
"I remember Manchester United, and how they used to do it," he said. "Fergie, I'm convinced, used to send one player at a time because he knew if you kept sending the same player, eventually he's going to get cautioned.
Manchester United's Scottish manager Alex Ferguson (R) shouts at assistant referee Andy Garrett during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford in Manchester, north-west England on December 29, 2012. Manchester United won the game 2-0
"I remember saying to Rio once: 'Go and tell your f***ing manager to f*** off!' And you know what, he turned around, he said: 'I'm not telling him!', reports the Mirror. "Because you knew what they were doing. It was one after another. It wasn't the decision, they didn't care because they couldn't change that decision.
"It was the next one, they wanted that next decision, so there were those mind games." As a referee, Clattenburg often found himself on the receiving end of similar words he had for Ferguson, most notably from Adam Lallana.
During the episode, he claimed he received "dog's abuse" from the former Liverpool star during his time at Southampton. The incident took place when the Saints were playing Everton in 2014, which they ended up losing 2-1. "I remember I had a fight with Adam Lallana," he added. "I was returning to Everton after many years, and Adam gave me dog's abuse.
Rio Ferdinand shouting at Mark Clattenburg
"I think he was frustrated at the end of the game. I used to take into account a bit if they got beat, a bit of frustration, it was Christmas so he probably had too much turkey and stuff like that. He was a bit upset.
"There were some choice words said and I said to him: 'Look, you've changed since you've played for England'. I wanted to defuse the situation. 'You've f***ing changed since you've played for England'. And he looked at us and walked off."
Southampton lodged formal grievances with both the Premier League and the Football Association, which were eventually thrown out. Following his transfer to Liverpool, when Lallana denied any involvement with those complaints, Clattenburg retorted: "You f***ing were you little scruff."