Clattenburg questions "odd" referee appointment for Championship play-off final

Jon Moss will officiate his last-ever match on Sunday in the Championship play-off final between Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest.

It will bring down the curtain on his long career in football, having refereed in the Premier League since 2011. But his appointment for Sunday's showpiece has not gone down well with one of his former colleagues. Mark Clattenburg has suggested picking Moss as the whistler at Wembley is a mistake.

Clattenburg, who left English football in 2017, listed two reasons why in his latest column for the Daily Mail.

He wrote: "Jon Moss's appointment for the Championship play-off final between Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest is an odd one for two reasons.

"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. I understood that. I didn't want to impact the integrity of the competition, so my Premier League farewell in 2017 was West Brom against Leicester - very much a mid-table clash.

"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 official here."

Moss became a regular Football League referee in 2005 before being promoted as a top flight official six years later. Last Sunday saw the 51-year-old take charge of his final Premier League contest when Leicester City faced Southampton.

And to mark the special occasion, Moss received a warm and tongue-in-cheek parting gift from Leicester pair Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel. A picture was uploaded to social media of the Foxes' duo presenting Moss with a shirt saying "thank you for retiring" although he appeared to take it in good spirits.

Moss' impending retirement coincides with two other referees' exits. Mike Dean, 53, and Martin Atkinson, 51, also marked the end of their careers in Sunday's final round of top flight matches.

Dean, who has become something of a cult figure in football for his flamboyant on-pitch reactions and gesticulations, appears to have quickly found a new hobby since hanging up his whistle. He has since joined social media site Instagram and on his first post he wrote: "So much love for this game but time to call full time one last time. 22 years. 560 Premier League games. Some unbelievable memories and I'll miss this next season."