PLAY THE ADVANTAGE

Mark Clattenburg takes another big step up the ladder on August 12, when he referees the UEFA Super Cup. He’ll be in the middle when the winners of the 2013 Champions League, Real Madrid, take on the winners of the Europa League, Sevilla, in Cardiff, Wales.

His preferred team, Simon Beck and Stuart Burt, will be his assistants, and Darren England will be the fourth official. Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor will be added assistants.

This is a big ass deal for Clatts. The Super Cup is often seen as one of the stepping stones for bigger UEFA appointments, as it was for 2013 referee Jonas Eriksson of Sweden.

Clatts was called up for both the Europa League and Champions League last year, but this is probably an indication we’ll see more of him, particularly with Howard Webb starting to step back.

You gotta hand it to him, though; can’t say he doesn’t put in the work. He was just in Bangkok to referee a friendly. And he was in Jacksonville here in the States a few weeks ago.

Doesn’t this guy ever take a holiday?

Or, you know…sleep?

Anyway, hopefully this is another sign that he’s starting to get some of the respect he deserves, both at home and internationally.