Former professional referee Mark Clattenburg has admitted Southampton can feel hard done by following our Premier League defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford in our last match.
Having hung up his yellow cards the other year, the fairly controversial referee has moved into the world of punditry and with a number of poor refereeing decisions from the usually unreliable Stuart Attwell, Clattenburg came out on our side in his column for the Daily Mail this week.
With two clear penalties not awarded (typically at Old Trafford) before he jumped at the chance to award them one to further help ensure all three points from the game, Clattenburg looked at all three incidents in the tie as the shine was taken off two fantastic goals from Yan Valery and James Ward-Prowse.
Smalling on Bertrand:
“This should have resulted in the award of a spot-kick, but it was a difficult one for referee Stuart Attwell. The holding of Bertrand’s shirt by Smalling happened on the blind side of the official. The best angle to see the offence would have been from behind the goal.”
Valery on Sanchez:
“This one was not a spot-kick. The hold from Valery was so slight that it did not affect Sanchez’s ability to play the ball. If you gave a penalty for this, then you would be giving more than 10 every game!”
Young on Bertrand:
“Southampton can feel wronged because they should also have been awarded a penalty for this one. Bertrand ran across Young and the Manchester United defender grabbed the wrist of the forward, pulling him down. Attwell missed it and allowed play to continue.”
Clattenburg isn’t saying anything most fans already know, Attwell was as poor as can be yet the Football Association and the Premier League won’t do anything about.
