Mark Clattenburg shares what he told Nottingham Forest after the Liverpool incident in March

After blowing the whistle for a head injury with just minutes remaining, Tierney should have given the ball back to Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Instead, he laid the ball back to Forest-bound keeper Caoimhin Kelleher and minutes later, Darwin Nunez scored a late winner.

Now Clattenburg has lifted the lid on what he told Forest following the furore surrounding the incident at the City Ground.

What Mark Clattenburg said to Nottingham Forest after the Liverpool incident

It’s fair to say that this one has caused quite a stir – and rightly so.

Tierney was not really held to account for this error of judgment and ultimately the result kept Forest in deep relegation trouble.

Clattenburg has now shared what he told Forest afterwards and at no point did he want to seek a conversation with Tierney himself.

He told the Ben Heath Podcast: “The advice I gave to Forest after the drop ball incident was, going forward, make sure you hold onto the ball.

“So when the umpire looks around to find where the ball is, you’ve got it.

“That was a sporting advantage for Forest and something I was able to advise on, but at the moment I don’t think many clubs will go that route because there is too much media backlash.”

If clubs can hire trainers and experts to deal with dietary requirements, set-pieces and even throw-ins, why is it discouraged for clubs to better understand refereeing?

Sky Sports and other such media outlets frowned on Clattenburg’s appointment by Forest, but it really wasn’t that deep.

The Reds simply wanted to try to get a sporting advantage to try to understand why certain things went against them.

Especially in this case against Liverpool, Forest may feel they can do something different if it happens again, and Clattenburg’s advice could prove useful.

In our view, it’s hard to disagree with Clattenburg when he says he doesn’t think more clubs will try this.

The media obviously didn’t like the notion and it would certainly be interesting to see what their perception would be if a bigger club than Forest decided to try this in the future.

Forest has now parted ways with Clattenburg from his advisory role and it is perhaps a shame that the relationship could not have continued for a little while longer.

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