Durham-born Mark Clattenburg has enjoyed a successful career on the national and international stage since he first took charge of a Football League match as a 25-year-old in 2000.
The former electrician was in the middle for Chesterfield Town’s clash with York City on that day and rapidly progressed up the career ladder before being promoted to the Select Group of referees in 2004. He has since regularly featured in the Premier League and was rewarded by being appointed to the FIFA list in 2006.
Clattenburg’s career started to flourish on the international stage as he took charge of a UEFA Under-17s Championship qualifier before refereeing his first UEFA Champions League match in August 2008. He subsequently progressed to be a FIFA Elite referee and has gone on to officiate Euro 2012 qualifiers and be an additional assistant referee at Euro 2012 in a team led by then fellow Select Group referee Howard Webb.
At the London 2012 Olympic Games, Clattenburg was in charge of the men’s gold medal match between Brazil and Mexico, at Wembley Stadium. He was the only English referee in the men’s football tournament.
Clattenburg is considered one of the top officials in English football and he was the man in the middle of Liverpool’s victory over Cardiff City in the 2012 League Cup Final at Wembley.
The Durham FA official returned to the national stadium foir the 2013 Community Shield, before he was awarded the 2016 FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Crystal Palace.
A week after the FA Cup Final, Clattenburg refereed the UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, in Milan.
Taking charge of the UEFA Euro 2016 final between France and Portgual capped an impressive 2016 for Clattenburg, who was named the best referee of the year at the Globe Soccer Awards in December.
