Wednesday may be Tax Day in America, but at least there’s some decent Champions League matches to offset it. England’s Mark Clattenburg (above) continues his march to the big time with the marquee matchup: Paris St. Germain v. Barcelona. This is a bit of a risk for me, since my friend and rabid PSG fan, France (not his real name), will blame me
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So, old Clatts is doing his usual high-profile derby game with Manchester United v. City, and makes one of his usual high profile calls. The basics: Vincent Kompany comes flying in with what appears to be a high foot and appears to take out the United player. Seems a straightforward red card if you don’t know what you’re doing. But
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Mark Clattenburg…God bless him. He’s just so easy to pick on, isn’t he? And while I’m not about to say that the drama that seems to follow him about isn’t all his fault, I do think it’s an easy narrative for the media, whether it’s true or not. Take the infamous “Sheeran Gate.” Last week, the story broke pretty much
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Infamously self-destructive Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg seems to be at it again. Clatts has been suspended from Premier League action this weekend after committing two refereeing faux pas. First, he contacted Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock by phone after the draw to West Brom. No word on what was said or why Clatts felt the need to make such
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Undoubtedly the biggest match – Atletico Madrid v. Juventus – goes to Dr. Dreamy himself – Dr. Felix Brych of Germany (above). Not only is the good doctor quite easy on the eyes, he’s a damn good referee, having officiated the last Europa League final and at the World Cup. My only hesitation is that Brych is not the paciest
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Let’s talk about something besides Mark Clattenburg and Manchester United, shall we? There are two big derbies this week: Liverpool v. Everton and Arsenal v. Spurs. (Though, let’s face it, the way my poor Spurs are playing right now, the North London derby may not be much of a contest…) Two of England’s top three FIFA-rated referees will be in action
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There is no doubt that a single call or a single moment can often change the momentum of the game. But let’s be clear when talking about Manchester United’s 5-3 shock defeat to Leicester: That is not what happened here. To be very clear, United came out of halftime with a 2-1 lead. At 56, Manchester United scored again. They
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There’s a lot of buzz about this supposed Jack Wilshere handball in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City Saturday. Manuel Pellegrini thinks it should have been a penalty; referee Mark Clattenburg did not. Let’s be clear: This issue is not why Manchester City did not win this match, despite what Pellegrini wants you to believe. The two Arsenal goals happened
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Here are some thoughts I had watching a few of today’s Premier League referees in action. These are just my general impressions; they’re not scientific, and I don’t try and nitpick every single decision. But, as always, if you saw something I didn’t, let us know in comments below. Mark Clattenburg, Arsenal v. Manchester City Clatts was in rare form
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Matchweek 4 starts off with a big one: Arsenal v. Manchester City. England’s new Big Man, Mark Clattenburg (who has quite the following amongst the ladies, if my email is any indication), will be in the center for that one, along with ARs Simon Beck and Jake Collin. England’s two other top referees, Michael Oliver and Martin Atkinson, are at
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PLAY THE ADVANTAGE 