Mark Clattenburg questions major decision ahead of Nottingham Forest clash with Huddersfield Town | OneFootball

Mark Clattenburg has questioned the appointment of Jon Moss to referee the Championship play-off final.

Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest will compete at Wembley Stadium on Sunday for a place in the Premier League.

The former referee has raised concerns over Moss’ appointment by PGMOL due to it being the final game in the 51-year old’s career.

Clattenburg clarified that when he was retiring, the refereeing body told him that he was unable to end his career with any games with something riding on the result.

The 47-year old claimed that PGMOL did not want sentimentality clouding any referee’s judgement in such a big tie.

The former Champions League final referee also claimed that Moss lives in Yorkshire, which will likely not go down well with Forest fans due to the locality of Huddersfield and their previous gripes with refereeing decisions lately.

“The first reason is when I was retiring from refereeing, I was told I couldn’t oversee a game with anything riding on it because with it being my last, the PGMOL couldn’t risk sentimentality clouding my mind when I had a job to do,” wrote Clattenburg, via the Daily Mail.

“Yet Moss is now going to be overseeing the biggest game in English football, possibly the most high-pressure match an official can be handed given promotion to the Premier League is what’s at stake.

“The second reason is the 51-year-old lives in Leeds. With his Yorkshire ties, I’m not sure it’s the wisest move to have him referee a match of this magnitude involving Huddersfield. Especially given Forest’s gripes with the refereeing of late.

“VAR is there as a safety net at Wembley but if anything controversial happens, it gives the critics ammunition. Moss will appreciate the trust his bosses are showing in him, but I’m not sure the refereeing body have helped themselves or their officials here.”

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Huddersfield will be looking to earn promotion to the Premier League with a second play-off final victory in five years having won the 2017 edition against Reading.

Steve Cooper’s side will be looking to gain the club’s first promotion to the top flight since their relegation in 1999.

The sides finished 3rd and 4th in the Championship respectively.

The Verdict

Considering a place in the Premier League is so lucrative and season-defining, it is fair to say that there is a lot riding on this game.

Moss is an unusual choice for the final as he has not been given many of the country’s biggest games in recent months, with the likes of Anthony Taylor or Micahel Oliver chosen more often for the big occasions.

However, Moss is a professional who should be well able to recognise the magnitude of the match so should be able to set aside any sentimentality.

But having an ex-referee like Clattenburg questioning these things is not the most confident build-up that PGMOL will want going into the clash.