Mark Clattenburg was always the ultimate 'Celebrity Ref'. A man who understood that it was not only his job to uphold the laws of the game, but also manufacture a sense of drama for the punters too, often by, er… not upholding the laws of the game.

He admitted as much this week in an interview with NBC's 'Men in Blazers' podcast, revealing that during Chelsea's infamous 2-2 draw with Tottenham last May, he refused to rightfully send off Spurs players because he didn't want to be blamed for their "meltdown".

Amidst all the drama that came from that controversial statement, another interesting tidbit has been lost: Clattenburg also revealed what it was like to meet Roy Keane for the first time.

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And it's just as confusing.

"Even in the Premier League, I still smile at the first time I came across Roy Keane.

"He screamed at us for a corner and I'm sure it was a goal kick but because he screamed at us so loudly, I gave a corner. I was that petrified of him."

Clattenburg was young at the time, and has since gone on to earn the role of Saudi Arabia's head of referees. Speaking of his experience, he said: "I probably lacked man management. I didn't have management experience because I was still a young boy,"

"I hadn't had that employment background. I didn't have any experience of dealing with people, managing people, saying the right thing at the right time.

"It's only when I got older that I started to develop those skills. When you have those skills, you interact with adults better, players better. If you interact with players, they make your life easier. When they make your life easier, you become a good referee."

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