Clattenburg Conspiracy

Mike Oates 27/11/2007 35comments  |  Jump to last

It is interesting to note that Moyes has now been charged some nearly 4 weeks later re comments made about Clattenburg?s refereeing performance ? or lack of it , or to be blunt his total one-sided bias to Liverpool.

I suspect that when Sir Alex Ferguson was charged yesterday for foul and abusive language to ?Who Else? but Clattenburg following his 1st half performance against Bolton on Saturday, the FA or the Refs Committee or whatever its called now or both parties have said ? "How can you charge Ferguson but let Moyes off the hook?"

What are the potential reasons for this late charge.

1. The FA cant be seen to victimise the Big 4, and let the minnows off, that?s not what they do, the public expect them to show preferential treatment to these elitist 4 and expect their referees to do like wise, or else they?ll all bugger off and join a European League ? and that would be a shame

2. Moyes and Ferguson (as fellow Scots would surely do) have decided to get Clattenburg ? they have contrived a situation where the FA have to act, Ferguson charged for a lesser offence, but it brings back into spotlight the Everton : Liverpool game ? which the FA and Refs have conveniently wanted to forget, but now cant.

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3. Is it just plain incompetence that the FA have taken 4 weeks to do something about it

OR is it that the FA themselves have had enough of Mr Clattenburg and will use both the Moyes and Ferguson evidence to deliver the verdict to Mr Clattenburg of expulsion from the Premiership and go and spend 3 years in the Blue Square Conference.

I personally think Clattenburg will win both cases, and Ferguson will get fined £27.86p and Moyes will get banned to the Stands for 3 months and will get fined £250,000. ? Does that mean I fancy Option 1

Reader Comments

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Erik Dols
1   Posted 27/11/2007 at 15:02:58

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Ludlum would write a bestseller on this subject, if only he was still alive.
Phil Owen
2   Posted 27/11/2007 at 11:21:06

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When will the FA stop and actually listen to players, managers and supporters before making decisions such as these? When will the FA stop defending referees through their "old school tie" network? Wouldn't referees (and for that matter the FA) gain more respect from the majority by actually admitting mistakes?

Surely it makes more sense to appreciate situations, comments made through frustration and the post match reactions of managers instead of treating them like naughty school children?

With reference to Mark Clattenburg (who I felt was one of the better performing referees last season), I have friends who are Liverpool supporters who freely admit he was biased in the derby and that he made so many glaring errors even they lost count. Yet the FA see no wrong, except by Moyes.

I know this situation will not change and common sense will not prevail, but heh the FA has got to find the wages for the new England manager from somewhere, so they may as well grab every opportunity to fine clubs, players and managers. It must be a nice little earner!!!

Joseph Maguire
3   Posted 27/11/2007 at 15:37:26

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I hope Davie boy is ready to stand up and be counted. He did say after the derby that he would welcome any inquiry and tell the FA what Clattenberg admitted to after the game and it was witnessed by John Barnwell from Managers Association.
Dan Parker
4   Posted 27/11/2007 at 15:23:32

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I really don't like the autocratic style the FA applies. Manager's should be able to criticise referees within reason, it's a democracy. What happenend to freedom of speech? When Clattenberg went on a pre-season tour with Liverpool, it was quite clearly a conflict of interests. Why should Moyes sit there and just accept it?

The FA has way too much power. Not only do they manage a complete circus at an international level, they feel they have the right to bullyboy tactics and censorship. They're like the footballing equivalent of the SS. Where do they get the muppets from that run it anyway - I've never heard of them and they hardly ever look like passionate football supporters.

Don't get me wrong, referees have a hard job but they should be seen and not heard. They shouldn't accept perks provided by any club including ours nor should they feel free to comment to the press. It's about time referees are made to justify their decisions in post-game interviews and not hide behind the dark cloak of the not-so-sweet FA.

Keith Glazzard
5   Posted 27/11/2007 at 15:56:04

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Beyond belief - four weeks? (or is it 5?)

I don’t know how these hearings are conducted but if DM can take video evidence in with him the Kuynt ’tackle’ should be enough to make the point. Its a kangaroo court of course so he’s guilty already, but even they surely have to answer the question - why did it take you this long?

They must have hated Sirr Alex, as it were, getting involved on Saturday - they would have come for Moyes already if they’d wanted to. Wonder why they didn’t?
Sack the Juggler
6   Posted 27/11/2007 at 16:35:23

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Very strange - why wait over a month to do anything? probably because they?ve just charged SAF for the same thing.

But it does show the contrasting treatment of managers - when Benitez complained about Rob Styles, instead of charging Benitez, the FA (through Keither Hackett) forced Styles to publically apologise and dropped him from officiating for a week.

Moyes gets charged and Clattenberg was never dropped (he was already on holiday).

Maybe its not Clattenberg who is biased, but the FA?
Tony Williams
7   Posted 27/11/2007 at 17:02:14

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That is what winds me up the most, it has been over 5 weeks and then they decide to bring him in.

Can you imagine the uproar if it had been immediately after the Derby?

He will be charged but I have a feeling that all the media will be on his side.
paul
8   Posted 27/11/2007 at 17:34:42

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theyll just use the excuse

" oh we had other more important matters to deal with, like a new england manager"


c**ts
Sid Logan
9   Posted 27/11/2007 at 17:38:03

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It?s not David Moyes who should be charged but rather Clattenburg for being unfit for the purpose! He clearly massively failed on the day to execute his duties in a manner befitting a professsional referee. For the FA to attempt to stand by an abysmal performance from Clattenburg only serves to demonstrate the approach universally adopted these days by people in positions of authority which is to hard nose their way out of everything and never admit they might be in any way culpable. Considering how harshly players who misdemean can be treated it is amazing how, through the FA?s fear of undermining their authority, referees can get away with murder. I long for the day when they are replaced by robots. They exist only to faciltate a game to to be a feature of it.
Karl Masters
10   Posted 27/11/2007 at 18:05:14

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Can these idiots sink any lower?

They are currently conducting a ’Branch & Root investiigation’ into the England Manager’s job. THEY appointed him! They are investigating themselves for Christ’s sake!

Presumably they should sack themselves for such mistakes, but it’ll never happen even though they drew up a contract that meant they have to pay Mr Useless £2.5m after having only just paying Sven £4m for doing nothing for a year!

Now this nonsense. We all know that Moyesie will get a bollocking and a fine. I hope he stands up for himself. That twat Clattenburg should be the one under investigation.
Paul Daly
11   Posted 27/11/2007 at 18:26:09

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..........38 days later to be exact.....and even though Ludlum has been dead for years his publisher stll "ghost writes" Ludlum books.......probably uses the same ghost writer as Gerrard, who was full of praise for Clattenburg in his book and was at least as culpable as the ref.....
Keith Glazzard
12   Posted 27/11/2007 at 18:55:28

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I have just worked out the way the FA work.

Easter Sunday can be set by the church (RC & CE) as much as 35 days different from one year to the next. It depends on full moons and the equinox (I’d put in a link, but nobody would use it).

The FA obviously use this medieval model to try to sort out what they’re doing. I suggest Davie takes a mystic in with him to try to make sense of it all
Peter Singer
13   Posted 27/11/2007 at 19:38:58

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Options 2 and 3 look the most likely ones to me.
David Killip
14   Posted 27/11/2007 at 21:20:41

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It’s option 3 of course...it’s always cock-up and never conspiracy...the FA are as comprehensively useless as Clattenberg. After the derby display, the man isn’t fit to set foot on a pitch again. Moysies reward for pointing this out will be a fine, and the moral high ground. I just can’t wait for Clattenfools return to Goodison.
Mick Pedley
15   Posted 27/11/2007 at 21:20:46

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What an absolute joke. Its taken them this long to build up a half decent case against Moyes, thats the only reason why its taken so long.

Essien punished within 24 hours of the game, Alex Ferguson the same. DM they wait 38 days! Surely there must be some sort of time limit on these things if you are warning people about their behaviour.

Next thing we know they’ll be calling Big Dunc back for a bollocking and a six month ban for summat he did 2 or 3 years ago,


Norbert Grimbles
16   Posted 27/11/2007 at 21:14:32

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Medieval astrological models? I thought the FA read the signs in goats’ intestines to make their decisions...except in the appointment of the last England manager where the just gave the intestines the job.
Keith Glazzard
17   Posted 27/11/2007 at 22:09:25

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Mr Grimbles - you can’t say fairer than fair comment.

Do you have a handy goat to sacrifice to tell us all which way the almighty sweet FA are going to turn at the next annointment?

Do you think the SFA could turn Davie’s heed? For all our sakes, I hope not.
Norbert Grimbles
18   Posted 27/11/2007 at 22:23:08

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Unfortunately I’’m down to my last goat and I need to keep her for company on those long winter evenings

As far as the Scotland job goes, I really can’t see the Scarey-eyed one being satisfied sitting in the stands watching every weekend instead of bouncing up and down in his technical area like the lovable wee loon that he is...unless the SFA breakout the psychic bagpipes to bewitch him.
Andy Higgs
19   Posted 27/11/2007 at 23:09:40

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Lets not forget the earpiece the refs wear now - was it really his decision or was there a higher soure whispering in his ear
Think Rooney sendin off against Portugal and Zidane headbutt that wasnt seen by ref or lino
The game is controlled at a higher level!
Think conspiracy!
Stig Meacham
20   Posted 27/11/2007 at 23:33:32

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Facts couldn’t be more obvious, lads. SirAF goes berserk at the Clot during halftime of his match, gets sent upstairs, reported, charged. SirAF’s reps point out that Moyes said much worse about the bad ref in the press a month earlier, and bang, Moyes gets taken-up, too.

It’s face-saving time for the ludicrous FA. It was my feeling that Moyesy was allowed to skate for his comments (for which he probably should’ve been fined) because of the obvious nature of the Clat mis-calls in that match. It was weird and suspicious to even the un-biased observer, but we know that!

Alex and his misbehaviour are the cause here. I just hope Moyes gets his day in court and doesn’t demur. He intimated he heard a few things from the jagoff ref after the match about the bizarre calls. Here’s hoping he’ll go public, but dollars to donuts he agrees to a minor fine in return for a non-comment.
Brian Wolf
21   Posted 28/11/2007 at 00:03:27

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The conspiracy is simple. Clattenburg is a RS lover.

You only have to go off the derby to see that he favours the Shite.

Then to top all that off you only have to look at the Bolton-Manure match where he let Bolton kick the proverbials out of the Manure and gave Bolton pretty much every decision. Clearly Clattenburg hates Everton and Manure and loves the Shite.

If we went and kicked his door in I bet you his bedroom would be kitted out in RS memorabilia, RS duvets, RS curtains and RS wallpaper.

I’d love to give that Cheatingberk a good kicking, he’ll get away with everything he’s done, the little shit that he is.
Paul Coldock
22   Posted 28/11/2007 at 01:26:25

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Clattenberk is more guilty than OJ Simpson, and there is 90-odd minutes-worth of evidence on video for them to consider! Why are the FA behaving like a bunch of monkeys when it comes down to him? Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil...

The FA are stating to look more incompetent than the government!
Dave Wilson
23   Posted 28/11/2007 at 04:33:57

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Joseph Maguire is right, DM knew exactly what he was saying, I think the FA have picked on the wrong guy this time, DM looked desperate to tell the world exactly what what said after that game, cant see him backing down now, but it’ll be great fun watching the FA trying to get the lid back on the can of worms they have just opened.
Gohead Davey lad
Derek Thomas
24   Posted 28/11/2007 at 06:40:37

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Erik Dols: It would seem that there is a new conspiracy bourne every day.
Tom Edwards
25   Posted 28/11/2007 at 10:59:27

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I would like to think there is a conspiracy here but I reckon it’s shear incompetence by the FA. They probably filed the original DM paperwork in the same drawer as McClaren’s CV and it only came to light when they were sacking the bastard!
dave trudge
26   Posted 28/11/2007 at 11:45:33

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im happy he’ll get a hearing
then the papers will know exactly whats been said/done and moyes can’t be charged
think about
he’s DEFENDING himself so now he can say what he wants and he can quote who he wants, bring all the evidence he wants to prove his point
he couldn’t do that at the press conference
this will work out very embarrasing for the fa and clattenberg i reckon
Steve Carter
27   Posted 28/11/2007 at 12:03:19

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The Club really has to get behind Moyes. In fact, all they have to do is send the FA a CD of his derby display with a one-line covering note: "In complete answer to your charge, look at this. This Clattenberg is either a cheat or incompetent, and either way Moyes’s comments are substatively correct. It’s not just us - Roy Carroll’s "save" Manure v Spurs a couple of years ago, Manure v Notlob last week etc.
Eddie
28   Posted 28/11/2007 at 12:24:06

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There?s been much written about the derby and you lot are still whinging 5 weeks later, claiming you where ?cheated? and that Clattenburg was biased towards LFC, aand that we got all the decisions whilst little everton got nothing.

Anyway, we all know the incidents you reckon didn?t go your way, but can any of you tell me, honestly, why these ?other? decisions, which did go your way, are never mentioned?

1) The throw in leading directly to Lescott?s penalty claim in the last minute being a foul throw. McFadden had both feet clearly on the pitch, which is a foul throw, and therefore the penalty claim would never have happened. How can you moan about one ?injustice?, but not about another leading up to it?

2) Kuyt?s ?offside? goal. Replays showed Kuyt was defintely onside. He played on and put the ball in the net. Result, definite goal. Why no mention of this injustice?

3) Howard?s handball. Replays showed Howard clearly picking the ball up outside of the box, yet no action was taken. This should have been a free kick to LFC and a yellow card for Howard, who would then have been sent off later in the game when he was booked for kicking the ball away. Why no mention of this injustice?

These are just 3 of the major decisions Clattenburg got wrong. These are all indisputable errors, unlike the Kuyt tackle or Gerrard penalty, which are all subject to interpretation and open to debate.

Why are everton fans still moaning about being cheated in the derby, when it is quite clear if any team was hard done by it was LFC?
Matthew Lim
29   Posted 28/11/2007 at 12:28:39

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Dear Eddie

We Everton fans are neither moaning nor whining; the whiners or moaners were clearly illustrated by fans not too long ago when one club had failed to make the Champions League based on league position, but only to be allowed in thanks to the .....FA!
It is just shocking that the FA is so unprofessional in handling so many issues; in fact the failure of England to qualify for the EC was mainly the fault of the FA. It?s a shame. Shame on you FA, and shame on you Clattenburg.

And Eddie, if LFC did not make the Champions League that season, I bet LFC fans will be whining a lot more, and many players (including Steve G) would definitely have left. So, please STOP calling everton fans whiners when there?s clearly only one group of whiners.

Whatever the outcome, let?s get behind Moyes!
Tony Williams
30   Posted 28/11/2007 at 13:41:51

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Oh dear me Eddy, it seems that your limited brain cannot take into context why we are "moaning some 5 weeks later"

Look at the title of the thread, this is about Moyes being brought up on a charge by the FA, due to his comments after...........wait for it.....the Derby game!!!.

So of course we would be talking about it again. It has not been discussed on this site for some time, but then again like a typical red shite, why let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Toodles
Davey
31   Posted 28/11/2007 at 13:50:18

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That posting by an Evertonian pretending to be a Rednose called "Eddie" was hilarious! It?s not actually believable though, because not even the RS supporters are quite that stupid....are they?
Eddie
32   Posted 28/11/2007 at 14:16:47

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’Davey’, I most certainly am not a bluenose, I was lucky enough to be born a Red, thank God.

Anyway, which bits are not ’actually believable’? And why is bringing up actual incidents which happened in a football game, and asking for other fans to explain them constructively instead of just dismissing them, as they don’t conform to the evertonian ’we wuz robbed, the whole world is against us’ victim mentality, being ’stupid’?

Are you always so one eyed and see everything through your blue tinted glasses?
Richard Flaherty
33   Posted 28/11/2007 at 14:31:52

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Good luck FC PORTO tonight at the shithouse.

I dont know. All I, you, we , need is for the red shite to drop one point in their remaining two champions league fixtures and the rest will be academic.

By the way, I recently purchased an AC MILAN shirt at a local retailer, part of this was because of the final result in may, and because two years ago i was genuinely upset and angry after the istanbul(shit) final.

Is it acceptable to support everton and a continental side or do i just get too much pleasure when the red shite lose, and when it comes in the final of european footballs greatest tournament theres no feeling like it.

Apart from something else i could mention, but you can make up your own minds.
Scott Edwards
34   Posted 28/11/2007 at 16:26:50

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I think the FA have a cheek charging David Moyes over his post match derby comments regarding the performance of referee Mark Clattenberg. Clattenberg made one of the worst performances I have seen in a long while that day, and was inconsistent in his decisions.

A few weeks previous to the derby Rob Styles made one bad decision resulting in a penalty against Liverpool and he was castigated by the FA and dropped down a league. The FA did nothing over the woefull performance of Clattenberg and he was refereeing a premier league match two weeks later after he had officiated a European game.

David Moyes should be commended for stating the truth about the referees performance and also for pointing out his affiliations with Liverpool FC. I'm sure Mr Moyes won't miss a week's wages. Well done for standing up on that one Davey!

Stig Meacham
35   Posted 28/11/2007 at 19:27:31

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It was a fiasco, and the only person to get punished is Moyes. $tevie Me - La, the thug carragher and Dirt Kunt all walk away. Sad.
Laurie Cooper
36   Posted 28/11/2007 at 21:56:29

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I don?t that the options provided by Mike cover the entirety of the range actually available. In my humble view, Mark Clattenburg should have been immediately charged by the FA with bringing the game into disrepute because of his quite clear and unambiguous bias towards Liverpool FC.

However, now having just watched the Liverpool vs Porto match on television, I think the problem of Liverpool?s influence with the refereeing community is more all-encompassing than we may have thought. In the Porto match, Liverpool players were constantly putting pressure on the referee by whingeing when things didn?t go their way, by committing fouls (such as high-boots, charging opponents out of the contest and high tackles on at least seven occasions and pushing an opponent off-balance in the penalty area to draw a penalty) and by regularly showing dissent, and not being penalised for any of these offences. On the other hand, Porto players, including Liverpool target Quaresma, were penalised either for the most innocuous of infringements or whenever a Liverpool player felt they aggrieved and ?informed/advised? their referee a la Stevie Gerrard.

This leads me to believe two things. Firstly, that Liverpool have become past masters at ?managing? referees to their own advantage. This is a ploy that all Clubs indulge in from time to time, but when it becomes both habitual and the main focus for a team, as it has for Liverpool, it becomes a serious blight on the game itself. And, secondly and most importantly, when referees consistently respond positively to Liverpool and equally consistently punish their opposition - who are usually playing the game in the spirit in which any sporting event is meant to be played - it becomes a critically serious problem for the efficacy of the game.

In simple terms and based on my observations of Liverpool in twelve matches over the past five years, including their "incredible", referee-assisted win over Milan in the European Cup Final, I believe Liverpool Football Club have become ?untouchable? within the refereeing fraternity and that their opponents cannot expect to be treated fairly and even-handedly.

All of which means that hanging Clattenburg (or whatever other justifiable penalty we have in mind for this fool) is not going to repair the problem of Liverpool?s unacceptably high level of influence with referees. As Clattenburg and the referee in the Porto match have clearly demonstrated, humiliating yourself in front of a large match day crowd plus a large television audience is no deterrent to ?referees? being ?Liverpool friendly?.

In my view, the answer lies in enough football clubs and individuals becoming active and consistently raising this issue with the FA, EUFA and other authorities to the point that they can no longer ignore it and have to act. Without this, in the short term, Liverpool will continue on its merry way and the game will suffer.
Eddy Grundy
37   Posted 28/11/2007 at 22:31:02

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During the Derby game, the RS were awarded a corner, as Hypia went past Clattenberg, the ref winked at him. If anyone kept a video/dvd, check it out.
Why on earth would a ref wink at a player, does he fancy him, or was there another reason?
Although I can’t see Clattenberg refereeing us at Goodison again, I think he will be given an away game, hope it’s not the return match.
Peter Hall
38   Posted 28/11/2007 at 23:28:05

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Clattenberg was awful in that match , it is true. But - love him as I do - Moyes was wrong to challenge his honesty. If you do that it’s got to be private. And my view - he’s a decent referee. But awful game.

Moyesy should have challenged everything except his You can’t go there. wi’thout wriiten evidence. And I think today, as we move into challenging the top four, he would do it differently. It was a bad day for us, and a bad day for Davey, but let’s take the rap and leave it behind. COYB!
Robert Carney
39   Posted 28/11/2007 at 23:35:43

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Never mind the conspiracy theories, the FA and Premeir leagues are run by a total bunch of wankers. Corruption seems to be spreading down to referees now they belong to a limited company.
Any other way a fledging company can make it to the top quickly.

We should start a campaign to clean he game up. It will take our minds away from the disaster awaiting us at Kirkby.
Tony Kelly
40   Posted 29/11/2007 at 10:14:26

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Refereeing at the the top level is all about snobbery. When did you last see a labourer, scaffolder, or any blue-collar worker refereeing at the top level? The answer is never. Its all about schoolteachers, office managers and in general any trade that is not associated with the working class. I would be interested to know if anybody knows of anyone who slipped the net.
Mark Clatenberg
41   Posted 29/11/2007 at 12:27:03

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I apologise for my performance in the recent Merseyside derby. My old mate stevie g told he he was through on goal and would definetly score so I had to send off Hibbert. As a referee earning around £500 per game I am of course eager to snatch the brown envelope on the way out of the ground and stevie g promised me a big fat one ! I will never get punished the FA is corrupt from top to bottom even dirty harry could be England manager. I would have given EFC a late penalty had I been watching the game .
See you next time , thanks Mark C
CTE
42   Posted 29/11/2007 at 13:51:02

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Thanks Mr. Clatenberg (one-T) for that appology - I now feel a whole lot better and have decided to forgive you!
As a way of recompense, can I suggest that you that the next Everton game you officiate at (if ever again?) you:
1. Give us a penalty every time the opposition go near one of our players in the box
2. Send off the oppistions goalkeeper for a dodgy hairstyle
3. banish the opistions manager to the stands for chewing gum

Now I know that you know how to do this ... you have done it before.

Gone on - be a sport mate.

PS even better if it?s one of the top-four.
Kev York
43   Posted 30/11/2007 at 17:43:16

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Us blues need to do something. Hit the FA were it hurts, in the pocket. Do not buy any England merchandise (not that I ever do). They need the money now more than ever after the shite the so called superstars served up v Croatia.
Mark Wright
44   Posted 02/12/2007 at 11:30:20

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I would imagine that nobody is more dismayed than Clott that the FA have brought this matter back into the limelight. Just when he thought that he had got away with it, now DM is going to have to give honest evidence to justify his comments and it isn?t going to be pretty.
Sorry Mr Clattenberg, but at best you were appalling on that day (at worst - something more sinister ) and had the FA acted properly to acknowledge this and protect the integrity of the game, then the mattter would now be forgotten.
Instead we were served up a dish of tripe, insulting to our intelligence and now this bizarre summons a month later.Yep, a pattern is emerging here of gross incompetence, lack of balls to take firm action when needed, then knee-jerk reactions when they can?t think of anything else to do. If I performed like that in my job in the real world, I would expect to be served my notice and advised to find a career that I was more suited to.
Okay, okay, sorry - I know - it?s the FA, not the ?real world?.


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