Mark Clattenburg's Tone-Deaf Comments & The Media Problem They Revealed

Mark Clattenburg's Tone-Deaf Comments & The Media Problem They Revealed

Last night raised yet another unsavoury and unacceptable example of how far football still has to go in the fight against racism.

Whether you believe Prestianni said what is alleged or not, the reaction and subsequent fallout do not happen for no reason.

Whether you like Vinicius Jr himself or not, resorting to insulting him in such a derogatory manner cannot be defended under any circumstance.

Yet, it was not only the on-pitch happenings which reared the head of an ugly beast within the beautiful game.

Had you witnessed the Amazon Prime coverage of the game, you would have been privy to the conversation and the, quite frankly, bewildering comments made by former referee Mark Clattenburg in the wake of the incident.

His remarks were miles off from what you'd expect to hear from those on a professional broadcast and were, quite frankly, tone-deaf considering the severity of what we saw unfold.

What Did Clattenburg Say?

Speaking as the referee pundit, a station often occupied by the likes of Mike Dean on TNT, Clattenburg insisted on air that Vinicius Jr had "not helped himself" with the celebration he did following his goal and then by both reporting the incident and leaving the field of play along with his teammates.

Dont celebrate after scoring a goal, you'll get racially abused and Mark Clattenburg will blame you for celebrating.

Mad. pic.twitter.com/l09EWW1ork

— EMDG (@EmanDaGoon) February 17, 2026

He also said that what were, granted, at the time unsubstantiated claims barring Vini's reaction, were just "a player saying some words" rather than allegations of a racist remark which should have been handled with the utmost care by those with a public voice.

It was exceptionally poorly timed and a take which clearly wasn't filtered through any sort of reason – so much was the unsavoury nature of the comments that Alan Shearer, who was the co-commentator for the evening, had to step in and return the dialogue to something that resembled acceptable for a live broadcast.

Media Must Do Better

It must be said that Clattenburg has since apologised in a post put on his X page, but that doesn't excuse him from being held accountable for what he said.

Those who find themselves in the world's spotlight and are entrusted with navigating the unpredictable nature of live broadcasts, where anything and everything can occur, have a responsibility to the audience they are being placed in front of.

And if they are unable to honour a role the size of the one Clattenburg occupied, where the possibility of influencing those watching and impressing upon viewers based on the angles perpetrated about any given situation is exceptionally high, then they should not be given the platform to be so careless.

pic.twitter.com/RGsKxgWwe3

— Mark Clattenburg (@clattenburg1975) February 18, 2026

Opinions like that of Mark Clattenburg's, whether said in poor judgement or otherwise, are massively damaging to those involved – championing harmful principles of victim blaming and distracting from the severity of the issue at hand.

Not only that, but the relevance to the Real Madrid players removing themselves from the pitch undermines the very protocols which are designed and implemented to protect players who face these situations.

And with such a senior and well-respected figure such as a referee, who already face a mass of criticism anyway, his words both further spiral the reputation of officials and create friction for those who are in a similar position to Clattenburg even if they have done everything right.

His apology was at least a step in the right direction, but questions must be asked, as every other member of the live broadcast team managed to navigate a very treacherous situation with the respect and care that it deserved.

But this isn't just a wake-up call for Clattenburg himself; it is a reminder to each and every one of those involved in sports media of the responsibility they have every time they step foot in the gantry, studio, write an article such as this one or conduct a pitch side interview.