Mark Clattenburg looks set to referee his final Premier League fixture at the end of this month after being snubbed for the SIXTH round of fixtures in a row.
Sportsmail understands that PGMOL chief Mike Riley is preferring to plan for life without their top whistler, who will take up a new position in Saudi Arabia at the end of the season.
But we can reveal that the weekend of April 29 has been earmarked as a possible swansong for the 42-year-old.
Fixtures that weekend include Spurs vs Arsenal and Chelsea at Everton, but some clubs might prefer not to have the Clattenburg sideshow as a distraction at such a crucial stage in the season.
The County Durham official has not taken charge of a Premier League game since February 25 and we understand Riley has decided to use those referees who will still be here next season, even though Clattenburg has been available for selection.
He did not feature, either, in the recent Sky Sports documentary ‘The Referees – Onside with Carragher and Neville’. Officials were handpicked for the show but Clattenburg was noticeable by his absence.
Clattenburg told Riley in February that he intended to quit the Premier League having accepted an offer to become head of referees in Saudi.
He is currently seeing out his notice period but took charge of the prestigious Crown Prince Cup Final at Riyadh’s 70,000-capacity King Fahd International Stadium last month. He is also already handling other points of administration in his new £500,000-per-year role.
We revealed last month that FIFA’s top brass are desperate for Clattenburg to referee at next summer’s World Cup and options are being explored which would allow him to do so, despite him giving up his place as England’s representative.
Source:Dailymailsport
