Liverpool fans could not believe their ears after hearing a contentious comment from Mark Clattenburg during their 3-1 comeback win over AC Milan.
The former FIFA referee is now employed by Amazon as an expert on their Champions League coverage and was part of Tuesday night’s broadcast.
Arne Slot’s side got back in the winning column at the San Siro to put behind the disappointment of a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
After leaking an early goal on the counter from Milan’s Christian Pulisic, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, and Dominik Szoboszlai all scored as the Reds commanded the game.
Milan’s fans were whipped into a feverish state – in the second half the Curva Sud ultras were reportedly shouting ‘Show some balls’ and ‘You’ve p****d us off’ – and Clattenburg had a controversial suggestion to soothe them.
Ex-referee Mark Clattenburg ignited disbelief with a comment he made on the Liverpool game
Clattenburg suggested referee Espen Eskas (pictured) should give some ‘small fouls’ in AC Milan’s favour to win back the crowd
Milan supporters vented their frustration with their players after a tricky start to the season
‘I think he (the referee) needs to calm the crowd down, the crowd is against him… I think he just needs to give one or two small fouls to get the judgement back,’ Clattenburg said live.
Liverpool fans did not respond kindly to the suggestion that referee Espen Eskas should intentionally favour Milan.
‘It’s mental, I couldn’t believe it when he said that,’ wrote one on X, formerly Twitter.
‘Clattenburg telling the ref to give Milan small fouls to appease the crowd, what an outrageous thing to say,’ another said.
‘I was just thinking what a great job the ref has done and then they brought Clattenburg on to tell us how he should be ruining the game,’ one wrote.
‘Yeah I heard that too. Mental. Referee shouldn’t be managing the crowd’s emotions,’ said another.
Some saw logic in Clattenburg’s advice, with one writing: ‘It’s actually correct, he’s not saying give them a foul for nothing, but give them a couple of the soft ones. It’s called game management! Otherwise you’ll lose the crowd and the players and things will spill over. Mark is correct and the ref tonight was brilliant.’
Milan’s fans have been generally unhappy with the start to the season, with the Rossoneri 10th in Serie A after one win in four games under new manager Paulo Fonseca.
Liverpool fans could not believe the comment but some people saw logic in the advice
Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, and Dominik Szoboszlai (pictured) were on target on the night
Clattenburg, 49, refereed the 2016 finals of the European Championship and the Champions League.
In 2017, he left his role officiating matches in the Premier League to replace Howard Webb as the Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s head of refereeing.
He had been earning £100,000 per year in England but his earnings rocketed to a minimum of £500,000 tax-free in Saudi Arabia.
In February he was appointed by Nottingham Forest as their referees’ analyst.
He has also been the lead referee in the BBC TV show Gladiators and has enjoyed the distinction of being a Mail Sport columnist.