Nottingham Forest made the bizarre decision to appoint Mark Clattenburg as their new referee analyst last week – and Mark Halsey endorses the move.
The former Premier League referee has just been speaking on TalkSPORT.
So, what has Halsey said about this unprecedented move by Forest to appoint Clattenburg? Let’s take a closer look…
What Mark Halsey has said about Forest appointing Mark Clattenburg
Well, it would appear that Halsey is a big fan of this and thinks Clattenburg will benefit Forest considerably.
The Reds have made the decision to try and understand certain aspects of the modern game a little bit better.
Against Newcastle recently, Alan Shearer claimed Forest should have been awarded a penalty when Martin Dubravka fouled Taiwo Awoniyi.
On Saturday, Forest were denied a clear penalty when Neco Williams was fouled by Maxwel Cornet but Tom Bramall wasn’t sent over to the screen by VAR.
Halsey thinks this is an interesting one from a Forest point of view but has appeared to endorse the move by the club to appoint Clattenburg.
He told TalkSPORT: “He’s worked with the chairman in the Greek Super League and he worked with him to bring over professional referees. He’s bought him into Forest and I think what you’ve got to look at it – he was an excellent referee – he’s going to be looking at how they are with players, what sort of refereeing style he has and just an awareness of what’s going on.
“Does he control the game with natural ability or does he show empathy for the game? You’re looking at things like that. I think it’s good for Forest because they will understand how to treat the referees.”
Forest take unprecedented step and it’s a fascinating one
This is quite remarkable and it probably typifies Forest – a club that can’t seemingly go one day without doing normal football club things.
Clattenburg coming on board could be ideal and it could at least help Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo get a better grasp on things with the match officials.
On Saturday, Williams was clearly fouled in the penalty area when Cornet stood on his foot.
On the field, it was a tough call but there was absolutely no reason why the VAR shouldn’t have recommended a review.
Clattenburg’s role looks like a fascinating one and it will be intriguing to see whether it can benefit Forest in any way.
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