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

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.