NOTTINGHAM FOREST have appointed former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg as the club’s new referees’ analyst.
The 48 year old was at the City Ground for Forest’s home match against West Ham today.
Clattenburg spent time with the club’s owner Evangelos Marinakis before kick-off.
Tony Scholes, the Premier League’s chief football officer, was also present at the match.
Forest have been frustrated over a number of controversial decisions by officials and VAR this season.
The appointment of Clattenburg is seen as an attempt to improve their understanding of decisions and also improve relationships with the PGMOL and match officials.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
The Durham-born ref officiated in the Premier League for 13 years between 2004 and 2013.
He also took charge of the 2016 Champions League final and the European Championship final between Portugal and France in the same year.
He has recently been the lead referee in BBC TV show Gladiators.
The classic series, which originally aired on ITV from 1992 to 2000, made a comeback earlier this year.
Most read in Football
HOW TO GET FREE BETS ON FOOTBALL
Clattenburg’s appearance on the reboot left fans stunned with some claiming he was putting on a Scottish accent during the show.
During the one-hour episode, the former ref said the show’s famous line: “Contestants, ready? Gladiators, ready?”
But for the rest of the season he will be in place at Forest in a key consultancy role.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk