FORMER Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg was smacked in the face by a water bottle as he took charge of game in the Saudi Professional League on Sunday.
The 42-year-old quit English football to take up the position of Head of Refereeing in the Gulf State last year.
Despite his senior position, he still likes to keep himself involved with the action on the pitch – but he got more than he bargained for yesterday.
Clattenburg was officiating Al-Ettifaq’s clash with Al Feiha when a stray container hit him in the head as a player attempted to throw it back to towards his side’s physio.
Al-Ettifaq left-back Hussein Sayed was the guilty party as one of his team-mates was being attended to by the medic.
But hopefully his passing is more accurate that his throwing as his aim was well and truly off target.
The horrified Egyptian, obviously worried he could face disciplinary action, rushed over to Clattenburg to apologise.
And he even offered him a hug too.
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Luckily for Sayed, the only card he received was an imaginary yellow one as the experienced ref saw the funny side.
Clattenburg admitted earlier this season that he “allowed Tottenham to self-destruct” against Chelsea during the infamous Battle at the Bridge in 2016.
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He handed out nine yellow cards during the bruising encounter and admitted he consciously did not send anyone off to protect his reputation.
Clattenburg told the Men In Blazers podcast.“It was theatre. I went in with a game plan – that I didn’t want Tottenham blaming Mark Clattenburg that they were going to lose the title.
“There should have been three red cards for Tottenham. I allowed them to self-destruct.
“All the media and people in the world went ‘Tottenham lost the title’. If I send three players off, what’s the headlines? ‘Clattenburg cost Tottenham the title’.
“It was pure theatre that they self-destructed.”
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