Some jobs come with certain social expectations. You'd never see Barack Obama at a Slayer concert for example (voters can handle mainstream hip-hop...they can't handle anti-religious rock music). One Premier League soccer referee was canned after attending an Ed Sheeran concert in Newcastle apparently.
And no, the league didn't fire him because he has a taste for pop music or because it doesn't care for Sheeran...we were leading you on. The truth of the matter us that the late show forced referee Mark Clattenburg to find an alternate method of traveling to Saturday's (October 25) game between West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace. This is a bigger deal than it might appear, as league rules require that referees travel with their assistants, as to prevent any funny business.
Clattenburg opted to use his own car to drive to the Sheeran gig at Metro Radio Arena, which apparently his assistant had no interest in attending. Another questionable decision he made was to contact Crystal Palace's manager Neil Warnock via a mobile phone while he drove. Odds are the conversation weren't as suspicious as it might seem...managers and referees frequently discuss calls and issues following the match. However, again, the assistant is required to be there in order to maintain the "integrity" of the conversations. That brings Clattenburg's call into question.
It doesn't help that the referee has a trouble history as it is, according to NME (a publication far more familiar with top flight soccer than we are). The judge was suspended for eight months because of questionable business dealings and personal debt, and then he was accused by Chelsea's John Mikel Obi of using aggressive race-based language against him during a match.
