PLAY THE ADVANTAGE

So, it’s no World Cup, but a Europa League semifinal is a pretty good consolation prize for England’s Mark Clattenburg (above).

Clatts has had a truly outstanding year, both internationally and in Premier League, where he’s successfully taken charge of numerous big games. It is just a shame that he did not get this tournament final, and makes the fact that he was not given the FA Cup final (for which he was considered a lock) even more of a head scratcher.

He will take Juventus v. Benfica, while World Cup-bound Serbian referee Milorad Mazic takes Valencia v. Sevilla.