REFEREE Mark Clattenburg has branded former Real Madrid star Pepe a ‘soft s***e’ after he dived in the 2016 Champions League final.
And the former Premier League official shed the light on his relationship with Pepe’s old Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Mark Clattenburg sticks his tongue out during the 2016 Champions League final as Pepe complainsCredit: Reuters
Clattenburg’s tongue got a work-out on the biggest stage as Pepe lay on the ground
Clattenburg revealed he had a great relationship with Cristiano RonaldoCredit: Rex Features
Clattenburg, 45, was hilariously snapped sticking his tongue out while Pepe was rolling around on the floor during the Champions League final between Los Blancos and Atletico Madrid in Milan four years ago.
And Clattenburg reflected on the bizarre incident at the San Siro during Paddy Power’s From The Horse’s Mouth podcast: “I think the missus was proud of it.
“I remember coming off and everyone was talking about my tongue, they weren’t talking about my refereeing performance – which was a good thing.
“So I thought ‘you know what, that wasn’t a bad thing to do’. But it was just a reaction – my mouth was completely dry, it was a really hot day.
“It worked perfectly because, when you watch it back, Pepe was on the floor – and, oh my god, what a soft s***e. Rolling around.
“So what I did was what everyone back at home watching probably thought of Pepe.”
Pepe, now at Porto, and his Galacticos pals went on to lift the trophy thanks to a 5-3 win on penalties over Diego Simeone’s side, after the game had finished 1-1.
And Clattenburg explained that he ‘had such a great relationship’ with Ronaldo during his time in the middle.
Clattenburg slammed Pepe’s antics and labelled him a ‘soft s***e’Credit: Rex Features
He added: “I remember seeing Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo, when he first came in to the Premier League, and thinking ‘f*** me, how good are these?’
“I treated them the same as I would everybody else. And that’s probably why I had a warm relationship with a lot of the big players, especially with people like Cristiano Ronaldo – you know the way he was at the end, when he was trying to grab us going up for my medal in the Euros.
“There was a lot of respect there. I had such a great relationship with Ronaldo. And when you have a good relationship with them on the pitch, they make your life so easy.
“I treated players exactly the same if they were in grassroots, amateur football, or the top level. I think the professional players liked that, they didn’t like being talked down to.”
Clattenburg – who quit officiating in the Premier League in 2017 to replace Howard Webb as Saudi Arabia’s head of refereeing – revealed his rapport with foreign stars may have been helped by his Geordie twang.
He explained: “I probably was different in that I never spoke to them in English, because my Geordie accent was so bad, they didn’t even understand what I was saying.
“And that probably went for us, because they were like ‘f***ing hell, I may as well just agree with him, because I don’t understand him’.”
Clattenburg has since featured with the whistle in the Chinese Super League.
The man famous for inking the Champions League trophy on his arm after the Pepe final also claimed Jose Mourinho blames him for getting the sack at Chelsea.
Clattenburg was the man in charge for Mourinho’s last game during his second stint at Stamford Bridge – a 2-1 defeat away at Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester in 2015 – and claimed the Portuguese boss has harboured a grudge since.
Mark Clattenburg was talking on Paddy Power’s podcast, From The Horse’s Mouth, which you can listen to at podfollow.com/horsesmouth
Edin Dzeko falls down comically after Pepe ‘headbutt’ during Porto’s Champions League tie with Roma
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
