Mark Clattenburg has defended his comments about having a 'gameplan' to deliberately avoid sending off Tottenham Hotspur players against Chelsea last year, insisting that they have been "taken out of context".
The feisty match during the 2015-16 title run-in saw Spurs collapse at 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to draw 2-2 in a game that they needed to win to prevent Leicester City from winning the title.
Former Premier League referee Clattenburg revealed in an NBC Sports podcast earlier this week that he preferred to 'let Spurs self-destruct', rather than hog the headlines for himself by reaching into his back pocket.
Clattenburg's comments were met with criticism by his ex-boss Keith Hackett, but the County Durham official remains unperturbed.
"Many referees decide they don't want to be the centre of attention, but if I'd have sent off three Tottenham players, the whole world would have blamed Mark Clattenburg for costing Tottenham the title," he told Sky Sports News. "That's the balance that top-level officials have to try and achieve - what's right for the game and the laws - and that's what a lot of people don't understand.
"I can understand, after the abuse I've had today, why people don't want to become referees. I've taken abuse for 13 years. When you're a Premier League referee, you're not going to keep everybody happy, you're going to upset some teams. Referees haven't been allowed to speak for years. I want to try and educate and for people to understand. Yes, there's words that have been taken out of context, and I could have used different words in some places.
"But I don't regret what I did in that match. I thoroughly enjoyed the match. I came off the pitch knowing that I hadn't influenced the result, and that was the most important thing. I never pre-judge players. If people listened to the full podcast, which lasted 20 to 30 minutes, I would have answered that question. I treat every player exactly the same.
"We talked about refereeing, Saudi Arabia, video tech, enjoyable matches, Chelsea-Tottenham, what do we mean by game plans, and making sure I'm best prepared. Teams will go into a match best prepared, scouting the opposition. As a referee I've got to go into the game and make sure I'm forearmed with all the information that I need to give my best performance."
Chelsea and Spurs were handed a record fine by the Football Association after the match in May 2016 for failing to control their players.
