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Premier League
May 2, 2016 at 8pm UK
 
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2-2

Cahill (58'), Hazard (83')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Kane (35'), Heung-min (44')

Mark Clattenburg: 'I allowed Tottenham Hotspur to self-destruct'

Clattenburg: 'I let Spurs self-destruct'
© SilverHub
Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg reveals that he deliberately decided against sending off any Tottenham Hotspur players against Chelsea two seasons ago.

Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has confessed that he allowed Tottenham Hotspur "to self-destruct" in their infamous clash with Chelsea last year.

Nine Spurs players were cautioned in the ill-tempered match between the London rivals, which has since been dubbed the Battle of the Bridge.

Title-chasing Tottenham squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2, meaning that Leicester were crowned champions with time to spare.

Clattenburg says that he went into the match with a "gameplan", having refused to reach into his back pocket on numerous occasions as he did not want to be directly blamed for costing the Lilywhites a shot at the title.

"I allowed [Tottenham] to self-destruct so all the media, all the people in the world went: 'Tottenham lost the title,'" he told NBC Sport.

"If I sent three players off from Tottenham, what are the headlines? 'Clattenburg cost Tottenham the title.' It was pure theatre that Tottenham self-destructed against Chelsea and Leicester won the title. I helped the game. I certainly benefited the game by my style of refereeing.

"Some referees would have played by the book; Tottenham would have been down to seven or eight players and probably lost and they would've been looking for an excuse. But I didn't give them an excuse, because my gameplan was: let them lose the title."

Chelsea and Spurs were fined for failing to control their players, while Mousa Dembele received a six-match ban for gouging the eyes of Diego Costa.

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