Mark Clattenburg’s mission to “educate” referees in Saudi Arabia has ended after just 18 months, with the former Premier League official having been abruptly replaced from his £325,000-a-year post as head of refereeing.

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Clattenburg, who succeeded Howard Webb at the Saudi Arabian football federation, was appointed in February 2017 with the intention that he would help professionalise refereeing standards across the country’s domestic leagues. But with concerns mounting that there had been a lack of progress among its officials and criticism from the Newcastle-born official that local referees were not fit enough, the Saudi FA has now confirmed that the 43-year-old has been replaced as chairman of the referees’ committee.

“The Saudi Football Federation issued a decision appointing Mr Nabil bin Khalid al-Naqshbandi as chairman of the referees committee to replace the Mark Clattenburg of England,” read a statement on the federation’s official Twitter account. “The decision to appoint Naqshbandi is part of the framework of the board’s efforts to elevate football in the kingdom to the prestige that befits it globally.”

Speaking in a TV interview with the television station Al Arabiya on Tuesday which confirmed his departure, Clattenburg was heavily criticial of the standard of officiating in the country. “It’s one of those things – I had too many jobs,” he said. “When they arrived they was a big fitness problem and were not well trained. I was disappointed in my meetings as they failed in the basic standards and understanding of the law of the game.”

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Pierluigi Collina, the Italian who is chairman of Fifa’s referees committee, has been linked with a potential move to Saudi Arabia in the future.

Clattenburg caused controversy in December after he admitted he “allowed Tottenham to self-destruct” in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea in May 2016 that handed Leicester the Premier League title. He has yet to comment on his next move, although the man who has tattoos to commemorate his role in refereeing both the Champions League and Euro 2016 finals is unlikely to want to be out of the action for long.