| Clattenburg is expected to leave his role before the next round of Premier League fixtures on 25 February |
Mark Clattenburg is quitting his job as a Premier League official to become Saudi Arabia’s new head of referees.
The 41-year-old is widely considered to be one of the best referees in football and took charge of the Euro 2016 final, the Champions League final and the FA Cup final last season.
Howard Webb, another former top-flight official, resigned as Saudi Arabia’s head of refereeing 11 days ago.
Clattenburg is expected to leave before the next Premier League fixtures.
His new post will involve working with Saudi referees to improve performance and professionalise the set-up, while he will also take charge of some league games. He has signed a one-year rolling contract.
Speaking on a live broadcast on the Saudi Football Federation’s Twitter page, Clattenburg said: “This is an important move forward. We have professional referees in the country that I am leaving, which has been a big positive.
“One thing I’d like to do is work with the refereeing team and the president to make this happen so that it will be successful for many, many years to come.”
The Premier League’s referee body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said he had been “a great asset” and “an inspiration to those who want to get into refereeing”.
Its statement added: “We understand this is an exciting opportunity for Mark, and it further underlines the high esteem for English match officials throughout the world game.”