Gary Neville furious over Mark Clattenburg's 'disgraceful' new role at Nottingham Forest
Gary Neville has branded Nottingham Forest's decision to appoint Mark Clattenburg as referee analyst “a step too far”.
The former referee, who refereed 291 Premier League matches over 13 seasons, has been brought by forest owner Evangelos Marinakis following a series of controversial decisions going against the club since they returned to the top flight.
According The TelegraphClattenburg has joined the staff at the City Ground in a bid to “improve understanding and relationships”.
But for old England and manchester united advocate NevilleIt is difficult for him to see the logic behind the decision.
speaking to sky sports From Luton's Kenilworth Road on Sunday, the Salford City co-owner immediately raised his hand in the air to illustrate his disbelief as soon as he was asked about the appointment.
He said: “Honestly, I think in the last four or five weeks we haven't talked too much about VAR to begin with. There's been the odd decision here and there, but it's actually gotten a lot better in the last five or six weeks.
“In my opinion, there haven't been many decisions that have been that bad. Every team will complain when they make a bad decision, we used to complain all the time. But what is that?” Mark Clattenburg doing? I have worked with Mark. What are you doing?
“They employ you to go and tell a football club how the referees are making mistakes or what mistakes they are making. I mean, it's completely obvious. A fan in the crowd could go and tell you exactly what a referee is thinking.”
As well as believing that Clattenburg's role would not bring many benefits to the club, Neville also took issue with the way Forest are viewed from the outside.
“I am disappointed with Nottingham Forest” he continued. “It's like, look at all this, woe is me! Look, I get it, some teams feel like they've been hurt, others feel like they've made bad decisions against them.
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“That happens sometimes during a season and I would have hated it. You are talking to someone who would have been furious if we had a bad decision against us. But to employ a former referee to tell you why you are making decisions. Against you “For me, I think it's a step too far.”
However, Neville wanted to make it clear that his criticism was directed at the club's hierarchy and Clattenburg, rather than at the fans, given that they probably shared the same opinion as him.
“This is not an attack on Nottingham Forest fans because some of them will probably think it is disgraceful,” he said. “They won't like the decisions against them, but I'm sure they won't sit back and think it's a very good move by the club.”
A large number of Forest fans took to social media to express their views on the unusual appointment, and appear to be divided over whether it is a smart decision by the club.
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“Jeff (Stelling) talks about why we named Clattenburg on talkSPORT below. I'm baffled myself haha,” wrote one fan on X, while listening talkSPORT Breakfast Show.
Another fan reposted a clip of Maxwel Cornet's challenge to Neco Williams in the penalty area in the 2-0 victory over West Ham and he said, “Clattenburg you're going to be a very, very busy man.”
Forest moved away from the feared relegation zone on Saturday and jumped above it crystal Palace to place themselves in 16th place and move five points away from relegation.
