Mark Clattenburg explains why Jose Mourinho thinks ref 'got him the sack' at Chelsea

Jose Mourinho left Chelsea for the second time in December of 2015 following a run of nine defeats in 16 league fixtures which left the Blues one point above the relegation zone - and he might have blamed Mark Clattenburg

Posted Tuesday, November 24, 2020 by Dailystar.co.uk

Jose Mourinho blames former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg for his Chelsea sacking.

Although the dismissal of the Portuguese boss followed a string of poor results and performances - Clattenburg is held accountable by the controversial boss.

Before his spell at Manchester United the current Tottenham boss led Chelsea to the title by a margin of eight points in early 2015, but results turned sour the following season.

A run of nine defeats in 16 fixtures left them one point above the relegation zone in December.

When asked on Paddy Power From the Horses Mouth if any managers held a grudge against him during his career, Clattenburg said: “Jose Mourinho did, in the end. He was hard work when he came back from Real Madrid, and well, I got him the sack at Chelsea.

“Well, he blames me for getting him the sack at Chelsea – but I would say it was more all of the results before that, too.

“When he went to Manchester United, he was thinking the same thing – I’m going to get him the sack, so he was always anti-me.

“In general, managers like Sir Alex (Ferguson), at the time it was all about if they win you were the best referee in the world.

Mark Clattenburg thinks Jose Mourinho blames him for getting sacked by Chelsea

“There was only one team that really hated me when I was in the Football League, and that was Wigan. Wigan didn’t win for 13 matches, so it didn’t matter what I did, they never won.

“Crystal Palace are the same, never won a Premier League game when I refereed them, and I can remember referring a game at Aston Villa. Aston Villa were rock bottom, and I thought, you know what, they are going to win this game.

“Villa are going to finally break their duck against Mark Clattenburg.

“The goalkeeper threw one in and they got beat 1-0 and I still got the blame.”

Clattenburg, who took charge of the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final and the UEFA Euro 2016 Final left the Premier League to join the Saudi Arabian Football Federation in 2017.

"I was refereeing the game when Wayne Rooney broke Bobby Charlton's record and Mourinho came into my dressing room and he was unhappy about a handball penalty that I didn't give," Clattenburg said on the Men in Blazers podcast.

"I'd walked off that pitch at Stoke, which was always the coldest stadium, it was always wet and miserable, and refereeing Man United was never an easy match.”

Before adding: "And I went soul-searching, I wasn't enjoying it as much as I used to and I had to get out."