Mark Clattenburg quits the Premier League to take up role in Saudi Arabia

Clattenburg, who took charge of his first Football League game in 2000, is expected to leave his role before the next round of Premier League fixtures which starts on 25 February

Clattenburg will take up an advisory role in Saudi Arabia (Getty Images)

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGGMOL) has announced that referee Mark Clattenburg has quit his job with the Premier League to take up a new advisory position in Saudi Arabia.

Clattenburg took charge of his first English Football League game in 2000, and was promoted to the Premier League's Select Group in 2004.

Since then he has established himself as one of the finest referees of his generation, taking charge of the 2012 Olympic men's final, the 2016 FA Cup final, the 2016 Uefa Champions League final as well as the final of Euro 2016 in France.

A PGGMOL statement praised Clattenburg as a "great asset to the English game" and wished him well in the future.

"The PGMOL would like to wish Mark Clattenburg well as he prepares for his move to the Saudi Arabian Football Federation," the statement said.

The referee has been no stranger to controversy (Getty Images)

"Since joining the PGMO Select Group in 204, Mark developed into one of our top officials, refereeing at the highest level and setting standards for others to follow.

"Mark is a talented referee, he has been a great asset to the English game and hopefully an inspiration to those who want to get into refereeing at the grass roots of the game.

"We understand this is an exciting opportunity for Mark as well as further underlining what high esteem English match officials are held throughout the world game."

Clattenburg has refereed his last Premier League fixture (Getty Images)

Clattenburg is expected to leave his role before the next round of Premier League fixtures which starts on 25 February.

Despite his reputation as one of the Premier League's finest match officials, Clattenburg has been no stranger to controversy in his career.

In 2008 he had his elite referee status revoked after allegations he owed £60k as a result of a failed business venture. The ban was reduced to an eight-month suspension in February 2009.

And in 2014 he was briefly dropped from officiating for two breaches of contract. The first was speaking on the phone to the then-Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock; the second was leaving the stadium alone in a direct breach of protocool, so that he could drive himself to an Ed Sheeran concert.