Revealed: Stats prove Manchester United will be glad Clattenburg has gone

No matter what your opinion is of Mark Clattenburg, there’s little question that the standard of officiating in the Premier League will be worse off without him. He has, after all, made the shock decision to take up an immediate position in Saudi Arabian football at the top of his game.

He refereed the FA Cup, Champions League and Euro 2016 finals last year, though the former didn’t make the cut in that tattoo session that followed. Famed for his ridiculous facial expressions and Ed Sheeran fandom, the fact that Clattenburg is among the best referees of the Premier League era is often overlooked.

However, his last game in England’s top-flight was an eventful one and will be remembered for a mistake, although he did apologise to Hull having not seen the ball strike Alexis Sanchez’s hand to give Arsenal a lead. He also faced criticism for not sending off Kieran Gibbs in the second half, but did eventually brandish a red, and award a penalty, ironically for a handball on the line from Hull's Sam Clucas.

It was the third red card Clattenburg showed of the season, only Mike Dean has dished out more (5), and the eighth penalty he awarded, including one in each of his last three games. In general, however, Clattenburg has looked to allow play to flow more than others in the top-flight, awarding the second fewest fouls per game (20.7) and fewer per tackle (0.54) than any other Premier League referee this season.

It’s this tendency to try and avoid disrupting play where possible that perhaps marks Clattenburg out from the rest. Of the referees to have taken charge of at least 100 Premier League encounters since the 2009/10 season, only Andre Marriner (0.55) has blown fewer times per tackle (0.56), while only Lee Mason (3.03) has given fewer yellow cards per game (3.07). For comparison, Mike Dean has booked 3.65 players per game on average, which may not seem much but over the course of a 38-game season would result in 22 more cautions.

It’s clear, then, that Clattenburg has been one of the Premier League’s more tolerant officials, but which teams will be glad to see the back of him and who would rather he stayed based on their record with him in charge?

As far as teams that he has officiated more than once in England’s top-flight, it’s undoubtedly Crystal Palace that have had the worst results with Clattenburg as referee. Indeed, in 11 matches, the Eagles have failed to win a single one and picked up just 4 points from 33 available. In said matches they have also conceded four penalties and seen a player sent off.

Southampton also haven’t fared well with Clattenburg in charge, winning just 3 of 18 matches and losing 9, while Manchester City have also not enjoyed a great record. Clattenburg has refereed more Manchester City matches than any other side but the Citizens have only averaged 1.5 points from those 28 games, which is fewer than Stoke (1.52).

The Potters, then, are one of the teams that may well be disappointed by the shock announcement, having lost just six of 23 games he has officiated. It is, however, Tottenham that have enjoyed the best record under the watchful eye of the 41-year old.

Spurs have won 16 of the 24 games he has refereed since 2009/10, with 66.7% more than ten per cent more than any other side he has overseen more than ten times in that spell. As a result an average of 2.08 points per game is the most of any side that Clattenburg has refereed ten times or more, ahead of Chelsea (1.96), Liverpool (1.88) and Arsenal (1.79).

In terms of discipline, it’s Southampton again that haven’t had much joy in his matches, receiving more yellow cards per game (2.22) than any other Premier League side, while Manchester United have also been in Clattenburg’s bad books. He’s given more red cards to Red Devils players than any other team (6 in 23 matches), as well as awarding six penalties against them in said games and only awarding them one.

By comparison he’s not once given a penalty against the aforementioned Tottenham in 24 encounters, and only once given them a red card in that time (to Vlad Chiriches vs Stoke). One final statistic to highlight why Spurs fans should be particularly disheartened by Clattenburg’s departure. Which team has he awarded the most penalties to since 2009/10? You guessed it (6)…

Referee statistics can now be found on all Opta covered league and team pages