Hello and welcome to the Two Robby's podcast with me Robbie Musto and not Robbie Earl today.

This is a special podcast and I have today a special guest and that guest is Mark Clatenburg, the former Premier League referee.

Just a little bit of background information about Mark's career.

He began officiating in the Premier League in 2004, went on to officiate high-profile matches such as the 2016

Champions League final between Atlas-Ged Madrid and Real Madrid and the Euro-2016

final between France and Portugal. Officiated Premier League match in 2017, that was his last game to become the head of

refereeing of the Saudi Arabia Football Federation.

Well, welcoming Mark and well, I mean you got to the pinnacle of

refereeing and I remember watching games and analyzing games and talking about

games and I think it was pretty well known that you were the top guy and did a great

great job.

It was a shock to me and others that you ended up leaving the Premier League to go and take

this new position.

Give us a little insight into what the thought process.

When I thought you were, of course, at the peak

and doing a great job, why did you leave?

It was an easy decision, 100% easy decision.

The difficulty is, as you said earlier I started in 2004

therefore 14 years at the top in the Premier League was tough it It's mentally tough, it's physically tough,

and sometimes doing the same routine, same job, preparing the same.

But players do that.

I did that for 18 years.

...