'You have changed since you've played for England,' what Mark Clattenburg said to Adam Lallana to make Southampton want him to stop refereeing their fixtures
The referee's governing body, the PGMOL, have thrown out the case, but Southampton will appeal
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Your support makes all the difference.Southampton have refused to accept the verdict of the referee's governing body in their dispute against Mark Clattenburg's 'personal insult' towards Adam Lallana, and have requested that the official does not take charge of any of their matches until the matter is 'properly resolved'.
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) ruled that Clattenburg did not have a case to answer after the Saints complained after Clattenburg, in heated exchange after denying the club a late penalty in the 2-1 defeat at Everton on 29 December allegedly told the midfielder: "You are very different now, since you've played for England - you never used to be like this."
The PGMOL confirmed it will take no further action on the matter, and Clattenburg is free to continue officiating as planned, starting with Arsenal's FA Cup third round tie against Tottenham on Saturday.
But Southampton do not believe the case is closed, with club spokesman Jordan Sibley saying on Friday: "An official insulting any player, no matter his intentions, is clearly not acceptable behaviour. For this reason we do not accept the verdict in relation to this case, and do not consider the matter to be over.
"Under the circumstances we do not feel it appropriate for Mr Clattenburg to officiate in any of our matches until this matter is properly resolved."
The Saints originally wrote to the referees' governing body on New Year's Eve, objecting to referee Clattenburg's conduct towards the player in the game, before the PGMOL dismissed the case on Friday.
Clattenburg is no stranger to controversy, after Chelsea accused him of racially abusing midfielder John Mikel Obi last season in a hot-tempered Premier League clash with Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
It took an FA inquiry to rule there was no case to answer and six months later Clattenburg was back officiating Chelsea once again.
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