Mark Clattenburg defends his Chelsea vs Tottenham comments by claiming his words have been 'taken out of context'

The former Premier League referee has spoken for a second time about how he managed the title-deciding fixture at Stamford Bridge in May 2016

Mark Clattenburg has defended his comments regarding the 2016 Premier League title decider between Chelsea and Tottenham, claiming that his “game plan” to prevent himself becoming the main talking point from the encounter has been taken “out of context”.

The former Premier League referee faced fierce criticism on Monday after revealing that he believes three Tottenham players deserved to be sent-off in the 2-2 draw that he refereed in May 2016, which has since been dubbed the “Battle of the Bridge”. The result was enough to hand the title to Leicester City even though they weren’t playing, and Clattenburg – who has since moved to Saudi Arabia to become their head of referees – admitted he went into the game looking to avoid becoming the one that stole the headlines.

“I allowed them [Spurs] to self-destruct so all the media, all the people in the world went: ‘Tottenham lost the title’, Clattenburg told NBC’s Men in Blazers podcast this week.

“If I sent three players off from Tottenham, what are the headlines? ‘Clattenburg cost Tottenham the title.’ It was pure theatre that Tottenham self-destructed against Chelsea and Leicester won the title.”

He added: “I helped the game. I certainly benefited the game by my style of refereeing. Some referees would have played by the book; Tottenham would have been down to seven or eight players and probably lost and they would've been looking for an excuse.

“But I didn't give them an excuse, because my game plan was: Let them lose the title.”

The claims were met with a mixture of bemusement and criticism that Clattenburg had tried to make the game about himself even though his “game plan” was to do the opposite. A number of people tweeted the Euro 2016 final referee with angry responses, and Clattenburg has felt the need to speak again – referring to himself in third person – to defend his comments.

“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.

“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.

Clattenburg defended his comments by claiming they were 'taken out of context' (Getty)

“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.”