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10th Jul 2016

Everyone makes the same joke about Mark Clattenburg as he referees Euro 2016 final

Is this why he got the gig?

Simon Lloyd

Mark Clattenburg is the go-to guy when it comes to refereeing finals these days.

At the back end of May he took charge of the FA Cup final between Crystal Palace and Manchester United before jetting off to Milan for the all-Madrid Champions League showpiece.

Completing an unique reffing hat-trick, Clattenburg was also given the nod to be the man in the middle for the final of Euro 2016 in Paris. Regardless of what you think of the man, being selected for three major finals in as many months speaks volumes about how highly-regarded he is.

But ahead of kick-off between France and Portugal, not everyone was convinced that he’d been chosen purely on the basis that he’s the continent’s finest referee.

Instead, they suggested that the pre-match moth invasion at the Stade de France was the reason Clattenburg got the gig…

Now, at this point, we appreciate you might not have a fucking clue what we’re on about.

But just cast your minds back to the Champions League final a few weeks back. With the game at the San Siro in extra time, cameras briefly focused on Clattenburg as he stood over Pepe – rolling around in supposed agony.

For reasons unknown, Clattenburg decided to respond by doing this…

So, given his lizard-like tongue action, plenty of viewers were quick to point out that he was the ideal man to hoover up the thousands of moths that had settled in the stadium…