The former referee has named the ex-Arsenal goalkeeper as one of the most annoying players he ever had to deal with
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg says ex-Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was “miserable” and complained about everything.
Clattenburg spent 13 years as an official in the English top-flight and went on to take charge of some of the sport’s biggest matches, including Champions League and European Championship finals.
The 45-year-old had run-ins with several high-profile players during his career and he has opened up about the stars that got on his nerves, naming Lehmann as one of the worst offenders.
“He was just so irritable and never stopped, one of those miserable blokes who would whinge about everything and everyone,” he wrote about the former Gunners and Germany shot stopper in The Daily Mail. “If the ball was round, he would whinge. If the ball was white, he would whinge. You would think, ‘Just give it a rest’.
“He was a great goalkeeper but I honestly think this was a weakness in him and other teams identified that. They would stand on his toes at corners and he would react by pushing them.
“I knew players were provoking him but he was probably lucky to avoid being sent off and giving away penalties, as would happen now – but he would do snidey, little things himself that made it difficult and I didn’t enjoy refereeing him at all. He was erratic and his antics were not easy to deal with.”
One controversial incident almost cost Clattenburg his job, as he was the subject of a complaint from Chelsea in October 2012. The Football Association investigated him after Chelsea claimed he had used racist language towards midfielder John Obi Mikel, but the referee was soon cleared of any misconduct.
Clattenburg is still bitter about the claim as he has not received an apology from the Nigeria international.
“I have picked Mikel because of the incident during a Chelsea v Manchester United match in 2012 when he accused me of making a racist comment, which was not right and I was later cleared by the FA,” he added.
“He has never apologised and that is disappointing because it could have ruined my life. I fell out of love with refereeing for a while after that but couldn’t quit because I had a family to support and no other career to pursue. It all left a bad feeling that still lingers today.
“Mikel only heard the allegation from his team-mate Ramires, who did not speak English. Other Chelsea players have since apologised but nothing from Mikel.
“He had the chance to say sorry and speak to me about it during a Nigeria friendly in the United States before the World Cup in 2014, and I would have welcomed that, but nothing, sadly.”
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