Chinese Super League Plotting To Poach Top English Ref Mark Clattenburg

The odds have been shortened on "another high-profile name" joining the "megabucks" Chinese Super League -- "only this time" it is a referee, according to Adam Shergold of the London DAILY MAIL. Englishman Mark Clattenburg, who was "named the best referee in the world" at the Globe Soccer Awards on Tuesday night, has "emerged as a target for the wealthy league." After an "exceptional" '16 that saw him take charge of the FA Cup final, the Champions League final and the European Championship final, the 41-year-old from County Durham "would be seen as a big coup for the Chinese." Bookmaker Ladbrokes is offering odds of 25-1 for the Premier League official to make the "unprecedented move." Chinese football "has been plagued by match-fixing and corruption allegations" and the league's organizers would see the recruitment of a high-profile official like Clattenburg as a "big step towards tackling the problem" (DAILY MAIL, 12/28).