Alan Shearer has hit out at Mark Clattenburg’s “bonkers” Nottingham Forest role in the wake of the fallout from their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool at the weekend.
In the dying embers of that game, referee Paul Tierney mistakenly restarted play with an uncontested drop ball that was given to Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher when it should have been given to Forest.
Just moments later, Darwin Nunez scored a late goal to ensure Liverpool remained top of the Premier League but also plunge Forest further into the relegation dogfight.
Clattenburg’s explanation
Clattenburg, a former Premier League referee who was the official in both the 2016 Champions League final, as well as the final of EURO 2016, was recently appointed by Forest as a referee analyst.
His role is to advise the club’s board, and act on their behalf in talks with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), amid any contentious decisions.
As such, the 48-year-old was at the centre of the post-match fury and explained why the goal should have been disallowed.
"The owner's quite upset" 🗣️❌ Nottingham Forest sent their referee analyst Mark Clattenburg to speak to us after Liverpool's late winner📲 https://t.co/bwOLfi4Imu#BBCFootball #NFOLIV pic.twitter.com/vfdCZaWD4W
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) March 2, 2024
“The law is quite clear. The law states that the referee is entitled to stop the game if he feels there is a head injury. However, the ball has to go back to the team that has possession. Nottingham Forest clearly had that possession.
“Nottingham Forest should have had the ball back and therefore possession of the ball, and the game is completely different. Liverpool have then gone on the attack and scored from it.
“You can understand the frustration. Things just seem to be going against Nottingham Forest Football Club at the moment.
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“The owner is quite upset because they fought. He has invested a lot of money in the football club and he wants to see results. He feels another decision has gone against the football club.
“Quite rightly, he’s upset. I think everybody is upset and sad they have lost in this way. Hopefully the luck will change in the future.”
Shearer slams “bonkers” Nottingham Forest
But on the Rest is Football podcast, Newcastle United legend, Shearer, was at a loss over Clattenburg’s role when discussing the situation with co-hosts Micah Richards and Gary Lineker.
“I don’t think he answered it very well,” Richards said.
“So he’s like the spokesperson, which is pretty ridiculous. because surely it should be the club. It’s not Mark Clattenburg’s opinion of the situation. It’s just all bizarre.”
Topic starts at 20:00
Shearer added: “He’s a really nice guy, he’s very down to earth. He’s normal. But what the f*** is going on here, man? Seriously?”
“A referee’s analyst or whatever you want to call him? If you ever want to know how bonkers that football club is, then there’s the answer for you.”