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Sport

21st May 2016

Mark Clattenburg gets more attention than he’d like after FA Cup controversy

Ref!

Tom Victor

Mark Clattenburg will be the sole English representative in the Champions League final, but we got a glimpse of his abilities at Wembley.

The Durham referee took centre-stage for the FA Cup final between Manchester United and Crystal Palace, and perhaps got more attention than he’d have liked.

The main moment of controversy came roughly 20 minutes into the game.

Connor Wickham broke through on goal, only for the ref to blow his whistle before the striker could fire past David De Gea.

The reason for the whistle? A free-kick to Palace, just outside the area. Probably not as good as a goal, if we’re being honest.

Palace fans were naturally dumbfounded, but they weren’t the only ones.

It ranged from the straightforward…

To the sarcastic…

https://twitter.com/kevinmccauley/status/734064528992927745

To the partisan…

https://twitter.com/cathgibs/status/734065962228588545

And finally the unsurprised.

https://twitter.com/hmclandress/status/734065335914115072

Incredibly, Clattenburg did the same thing again before the break, blowing up seconds before Joel Ward burst free down Palace’s right-hand side.

By that stage, people weren’t even that surprised.

https://twitter.com/MonNightDawes/status/734069977616142337

https://twitter.com/djuaicgknan/status/734070003037839360