Mark Clattenburg has resigned from his role as Nottingham Forest’s referee analyst. His appointment was intended to improve understanding and relationships with match officials. Nottingham Forest publicly criticized the performance of the officials, expressing dissatisfaction with three penalties they believed should have been awarded and questioning the appointment of VAR official Stuart Atwell, who was rumored to be a Luton fan. Clattenburg, in response, heavily criticized the officiating at Goodison Park, referring to the decision as a “hat-trick of howlers.”

This resulted in a backlash from his former employers. Clattenburg mentioned that he had been providing his services under a consultancy agreement in good faith to help NFFC understand the workings of VAR. However, he acknowledged that the existence and performance of these consultancy services had caused unintended friction and had become more of a hindrance than a help to NFFC. Clattenburg also expressed regret over the unmerited targeting of him and believed that there was a place for such a role in modern football.

He expressed his gratitude to NFFC and wished them well for the remainder of the season and the future. Additionally, there were comments about the questioning of integrity and the labeling of a VAR official as a cheat due to his club allegiance. It was suggested that such statements could compromise the credibility of the individual making them and called for a distancing from those remarks. Overall, Mark Clattenburg’s resignation was a result of unintended friction and criticism surrounding his consultancy services and public commentary on match officiating, prompting him to step down from his role.