‘You f***ing have been you little scruff!’: Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg lifts the lid on his livid run-in with Adam Lallana after ex-England star gave him ‘canine’s abuse’

Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has opened up on his furious clash with ex-Southampton and England star Adam Lallana 11 years ago.

Clattenburg, who was the match referee for Southampton‘s 2-1 defeat by Everton in 2014, was accused by Southampton of using ‘abusive and insulting’ language towards their captain before eventually being cleared of misconduct by the FA.

In Saints’ complaint to PGMOL, the governing body responsible for referees, it was claimed Clattenburg had told Lallana after the match: ‘You are very different now, since you’ve played for England – you never used to be like this.’

Clattenburg has now lifted the lid on his tempestuous run-in with Lallana, who has now returned to St Mary’s after a six-year spell at Liverpool and four-year stint at Brighton.

Asked to open up on some of his biggest bust-ups with players over the years, the retired referee told The Overlap Fan Debate, brought to you by Sky Bet: ‘I remember I had a fight with Adam Lallana. I was going back to Everton after so many years, and Adam gave us dog’s abuse. 

‘I think he was frustrated at the end of the game. I used to take into account a bit if they got beat, a bit of frustration, it was Christmas so he probably had too much turkey and stuff like that. He was a bit upset. 

Mark Clattenburg (right) has opened up on his furious clash with Adam Lallana (left) in 2014

Clattenburg claims the ex-Saints star gave him ‘dog’s abuse’ and should have been sent off

The former referee was shocked and angry to see their exchange in the media the next day

‘There were some choice words said and I said to him, “Look, you’ve changed since you’ve played for England”. I wanted to defuse the situation. “You’ve f***ing changed since you’ve played for England”. And he looked at us, and walked off. And that was that, nothing was said anymore and I thought, well I diffused that quite well, I’m happy with myself.

‘Next day I read the Sun, or whatever that newspaper is, and headline was “Mark Clattenburg says this to Adam Lallana”. So I get a call from Mike Riley, my boss (former head of PGMOL), and he said, “Did you say that?” and I said, “I did, but tell him next time I’ll f***ing send him off”.

‘Now you see, you can’t have it both ways. If he’s giving us dog’s abuse and I’m not sending him off, why was it in the media the next day? And it could only have come from Adam Lallana, even though he’s used his club to make a complaint.’

According to Clattenburg, Lallana tried to put water under the bridge on the opening weekend of the following season, after signing with Liverpool for £25million from Southampton in the summer of 2014. 

Clattenburg added: ‘He signs for Liverpool and I’m refereeing Liverpool (on the) opening day of the season. And he comes up to us in the tunnel and says “Mark, I wasn’t behind it”. And I went, “You f***ing were you little scruff”. 

‘But he was behind it! I’m only being honest with him. Don’t f***ing come just because I’m going to referee and you’re thinking I’m going to f***ing send you off again, you know what I mean?

‘Why did he make that statement when it should stay on the field? Fair enough, I’ve heard referees and they swear. If we sent off a player every time they swore at us, come on.’ 

Paul Scholes, who hosted the show with former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher, interjected: ‘I quite like that you know, referees giving a bit back.’

Meeting again ahead of the new Premier League season, Lallana tried to tell Clattenburg he ‘wasn’t behind it’, prompting the referee to bite back: ‘You f***ing were you little scruff’

Lallana is now back at Southampton following lengthy spells at both Liverpool and Brighton

Asked by a fan whether managing Lallana was a challenge in that game, Clattenburg responded: ‘I think Jurgen Klopp was the (Liverpool) manager at the time, and I thanked him after the game for not bringing him off the bench!’

The FA cleared Clattenburg of any wrongdoing after investigating the incident at Everton and released a statement which read: ‘The FA can confirm it received a complaint from Southampton concerning referee Mark Clattenburg and his alleged comments made to their player Adam Lallana.

‘The FA has given its full consideration to this matter and it is our view that the comments, as disclosed in Southampton’s letter of complaint, do not constitute misconduct under the FA’s rules. Consequently, The FA will not be taking any further action in relation to this matter and now considers this case to be closed.’