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Competitive and combative as ever, former Chelsea captain John Terry has taken to his managerial role in the Baller League with the same never-say-die attitude he applied during his playing career.
If something didn’t go his way on the football pitch, team-mates, coaches, managers and referees alike would soon find out how he felt.
At the Baller League, it’s no different – and former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg certainly knows it.
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Tempers are high in game one of Baller League Night three as 26ers manager John Terry and referee Mark Clattenburg clash.
The pair clashed following a decision during Terry’s 26ers’ game against F.C. RTW on night three and the five-time Premier League winner told Clattenburg: “There’s no f****** point, I’ve got to do your job for you.”
Terry’s rant continued post-match when he told Sky Sports that “the refs are awful,”.
The 26ers are winless, second from bottom and have only a solitary point to show for four weeks of Baller League action. As far as Clattenburg is concerned, Terry requires some introspection after his side’s performances.
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There was plenty of passion as 26ers boss John Terry clashed with referee Mark Clattenburg before seeing his side concede a late goal in their 3-3 draw with F.C RTW.
“Terry has to be careful because I could tell him how to manage his football team because at the end of the day, he hasn’t done that particularly well either,” Clattenburg told Sky Sports.
“At the end of the day, you can make comments. He wasn’t happy with the refereeing decision. With John Terry, we had many run-ins in the Premier League, but I certainly respect him as a player, and had some great moments when I was refereeing Chelsea. He was a great player.
“He’s a winner, and that’s the most important thing, and you can’t take that out of someone. And that’s what I like about people – they’re still winners and they want to win, even though it’s excitement, but he’s so dedicated to winning, and sometimes it spills over.
“He tried to blame me, but at the end of the day, it’s not always the referee’s fault. It’s certainly not always my fault. You’ve got to look at the bigger picture. Is his team doing that well? No.
“But he’s put a lot of effort in. I saw him on the beach in Dubai in pictures, so he’s doing OK. I’m sure next time it’ll be all forgotten if he wins.”
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Chloe Kelly’s Wembley Rangers AFC were punished after Mark Clattenburg invoked a Referee’s challenge during their match with M7 FC in the Baller’s League.
The Terry bust-up reflects the age-old toils of refereeing, but it’s all happening in a different setting for Clattenburg.
Having refereed in Champions League, FA Cup and Euros finals, the Copper Box Arena is quite the change, but it’s a challenge Clattenburg has fully immersed himself in.
“It’s nice to be active still. I’ve not been active refereeing since 2020. So I haven’t really been involved. But I have been involved in these charity matches, Sidemen matches, and YouTuber influencer games, which is exciting.
“Mentally, it’s great for me that I can still stay active. At the Baller League, the players are really respectful. It’s really enjoyable.
“It’s nice that I’m trying to bring some young referees to the Baller League so that they can learn from me and hopefully I can inspire the next generation of young referees to be involved in Baller and also to take up refereeing.”
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Take a look at the best moments from Baller League Night Four.
The rules at Baller League make for an intense, faster game, different to what Clattenburg was used to during his time as an FA and FIFA referee. Six-a-side, gamechangers and flashing lights, but is it a new era of football?
“It certainly is,” says Clattenburg.
“When you’re in the arena every week, you can feel the buzz, you can feel the hype, you can feel the noise, and everybody’s enjoying it, and I think that’s the most important thing.
“Everything now is geared up to make it as fast as possible and as exciting as possible because we need to engage the fans, people to watch it. I believe people, yes, they’ll watch 11-a-side football, it’s 90 minutes.
“But what people want, especially the younger generation, is excitement. The Premier League need to bring in some sort of league like this in the future because the younger generation wants other things.”
Clattenburg, along with the other referees involved, are taking the Baller League seriously. Weekly video calls among officials are used to analyse performances to improve for the following week. Warm-ups, preparation and the nerves stay the same, similar to the blockbuster matches Clattenburg’s officiated over the years.
The official famously has tattoos that commemorate all of the biggest fixtures he’s refereed. Whether he’ll be adding a Baller League-inspired one? “You never know in the future,” Clattenburg says.
Sky and Baller League have announced a one-year broadcast partnership which will see Sky Sports and NOW become the TV home of the new indoor six-a-side competition in the UK, in an exciting new era of football.
Every match from the inaugural UK season will be shown live on Sky Sports linear channels on Monday nights from the Copper Box Arena in London, hosted by Chunkz and Olivia Buzaglo.
The competition began on March 24, with the top four teams taking part in the semi-finals and final to determine the season’s winner.
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