“Jose Mourinho paid the price” – Mark Clattenburg accused of bias against Manchester United by Graham Poll

Former Premier League referee Graham Poll has criticised Mark Clattenburg and suggested that he showed bias when he took charge of Manchester United and Burnley‘s game.

The Durham-born official is regarded as one of the world’s top referees and it is why he was awarded the FA Cup and Champions League final last season, as well as the Euro 2016 showpiece in France.

However, it was a far from perfect performance from the 41-year-old on Saturday, after he struggled at Old Trafford and missed a couple of key incidents.

Clattenburg failed to award Manchester United a spot-kick when Matteo Darmian appeared to be clipped by Jon Flanagan, whilst Ander Herrera was harshly sent off for two bookable offences.

Jose Mourinho was sent to the stands at half time after clearly disagreeing with Clattenburg’s decisions, and Poll has now revealed how the official is sometimes actually influenced by supporters and players.

“Mark Clattenburg is an excellent referee but he struggled at Old Trafford where Manchester United and manager Jose Mourinho paid the penalty,” Poll told the Daily Mail.

“Everton fans will testify that Clattenburg has an Achilles heel, which is that he gives nothing to a side once their fans turn against him.

“It was their derby match in October 2007 when the Geordie dug his heels in and ignored clear offences by Liverpool players and now United fans know the same.

“Matteo Darmian was tripped by Burnley’s Jon Flanagan just inside the penalty area right on half time but Clattenburg waved away the appeals which clearly incensed the United faithful and their manager Mourinho, who could not control his frustration and was sent to the stands.

“To be fair to Clattenburg, the contact by Flanagan was fractional and the reaction by Darmian was extreme which may have caused doubt in the referee’s mind.

“There was no such allowance for Clattenburg when he incorrectly dismissed Ander Herrera for a second yellow card after the midfielder slipped when approaching a tackle on Dean Marney. The decision cannot be appealed as it was the second yellow card and so Herrera will miss United’s next game.”