Keith Wyness, the former CEO of Everton and Aston Villa, insists that all Premier League teams will have an advisor for referee decisions after Nottingham Forest hired former official Mark Clattenburg.
Speaking on the latest episode of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old, who was CEO at Goodison Park from 2004 to 2009, as well as a two-year stint at Villa from 2016-2018, and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs, explained that all top-flight clubs will have an advisor in a similar role to Clattenburg.
Nottingham Forest announced last month that former Premier League referee Clattenburg has joined the club as an analyst.
Gary Neville criticized the decision, and The Telegraph reports that other top-flight referees are “perplexed” by Clattenburg’s new position.
Clattenburg was called into action last week when Forest lost 1-0 to Liverpool after referee Paul Tierney wrongly gave Liverpool control from a drop-ball situation in injury time.
Nottingham Forest support an unexpected Clattenburg nomination.
Wyness used his experience as CEO to explain that every team has a referee advisor to consult on fouls, blunders, and red cards.
“It’s had a lot of publicity as if it’s the first time a club has done this,” Wyness told Football Insider.
“But for as long as I’ve been in the game, every team has had some form of counsel who can consult on FA charges, bookings, and red cards.
“So there has always been the option for clubs to hire specialists to do this.
“Graham Bean, who had been there for quite some time, was always one of the experts behind the scenes.
“I believe bringing Clattenburg into the public eye and then having him speak afterwards was interesting.
“If there is a clear misunderstanding of the rule, why shouldn’t the club speak up about it?
“And in Forest’s case, it is the result of four or five poor decisions.”
