The touchline is about to change forever

Some people sip cocktails on the beach when they retire. Others become the head referee of the revamped 80s show Gladiators. 

Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg fits in the second camp.

And Gladiators isn’t the only unexpected place he’s popping up as he’s about to reappear in the English top flight and may make a mark on how clubs deal with refereeing decisions.

His new role

Nottingham Forest has appointed Clattenburg as their referees’ analyst to improve the club’s understanding and relationship with referees, per The Telegraph. 

This comes after the club’s frustrations over several decisions by officials and VAR, with Forest submitting three official complaints this season.

While it’s unclear how much of a role Clattenburg will play, this could be an interesting move for the Premier League.

Why?

Managers are getting booked more this season than players were 30 years ago, per The Times. This is hardly new or surprising, but it shows that communication between managers and referees is becoming more hostile.

So, despite the criticism of Clattenburg’s new role, it could lead to a few scenarios (all of which are positive for the game)...

1. Managers accept decisions - if an expert on their touchline tells them the decision was fine, then managers are more likely to accept without the usual tantrum.

2. Refs will up their game - while refs face a lot of pressure - let’s face it - the officiating hasn’t been up to scratch recently. Does an expert on the club’s side force referees to up their game? 

3. Referee analysts will be the new 12th man - it would be entertaining watching referee analysts from opposing teams battle it out to convince the fourth official a decision should go their way. Retired referees might be Premier club’s latest big summer signings.   

But of course…

… it runs the risk of making managers and players even more bullish on what they deem as bad decisions if an expert agrees with their side of the story.

It’s a matter of time before we know the true extent of this role, but we wouldn’t be so quick to shut down the idea.