Referees are an integral part of a match, they act as managers between two opposing teams but they have to be carefully ethical and neutral.
But there have been incidents when referees have been caught on camera celebrating goals. Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has revealed which football team he supports.
The 44-year-old officiated in the Premier League for 13 years between 2004 and 2017, and in 2016 he refereed the Champions League and European Championship finals.
However, during his lengthy spell as a top-flight official he never officiated a Newcastle United match – because he supported them.
“Newcastle United. The best team in the world!” Clattenburg responded on Twitter to a question about which football team is his favourite.
Referees are not allowed to officiate matches involving the club they support.
Keith Hackett, the former head of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), the organisation that makes refereeing appointments for Premier League games, explained the process behind the appointment of officials to certain matches in 2016.
“At the beginning of every season the referees’ background information is audited,” Hackett said.
“They complete a form that includes who they support, the history of if they’ve played the game and with the addresses where they are residing.
“That gives you a picture that comes into use when you’re appointing. It’s about ensuring, for example, you wouldn’t appoint a Sheffield-based ref for a Sheffield team.”
Clattenburg, as well as not being allowed to referee Newcastle games, wasn’t permitted to officiate any of Sunderland’s fixtures either.
Clattenburg left England in February 2017 to take up a role as chairman of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.
However, he lasted just 18 months in the post before being replaced. Earlier this year he agreed to return to full-time refereeing in the Chinese Super League.