"Ommm, I'm telling" can be a highly effective threat when you're seven years old... or, apparently, when you're a Premier League referee.
Mark Clattenburg claims that he once pulled that old trick out of the book (no pun intended) to stop Jordan Henderson from talking himself into a red card back.
The incident occured when Liverpool travelled to then-Championship side Bournemouth in the League Cup in December 2014.
Clattenburg had dismissed Henderson for a rash challenge in injury time in Liverpool's 3-2 Premier League win over Manchester City eight months prior.
The former referee told the Daily Mail: "He missed the rest of the season after that match." (In fact he didn't: he was back for the final day of the season against Clattenburg's beloved Newcastle.) "We had spoken about the sending off and Jordan admitted he'd deserved it.
"He told me that his mum had phoned him about it and had gone crazy. I knew then that he had a close relationship with his parents.
"The following season, I was officiating at Bournemouth, it was against Liverpool. I gave a decision a basic, bread and butter decision and Jordan absolutely volleyed us.
"It should have been a sending off. It was clear foul language, really hurtful and I should have given a red card."
Instead, Clattenburg took a different tack. We dare say that if officials actually followed through on issuing red cards for abuse instead of worrying so much about whether it might 'ruin the game', whatever that means, it would probably be more effective in the long run, but digress.
Clattenburg went on: "I turned around and said to Jordan: 'I am going to tell your mother what you just said to me when I see her on the weekend'.
"Jordan went white as a sheet and immediately shut up after that. I remember thinking, 'I can't believe that worked'."
Liverpool went on to win 3-1 thanks to a Raheem Sterling brace either side of Lazar Markovic's strike.
Dan Gosling got a consolation goal for Bournemouth midway through the second half.
TOPICS
