Mark Clattenburg is considering legal action over allegations made by Danny Simpson

Former referee Mark Clattenburg could take legal action after Danny Simpson claimed he opted against sending off a Leicester team-mate because he wanted them to win the Premier League title.

The former Foxes defender made the claims in a podcast where he suggested that Clattenburg had shown Danny Drinkwater leniency in a 2015-16 season game.

“I remember Clattenburg. Wow. I think he should’ve sent someone off. He said something like, ‘I should’ve sent you off there but I want you to win it’,” he said.

“I had to pretend I didn’t hear it. I was laughing my b*** off inside and I thought, ‘Yeah, we’re doing this’.

“I think it was Drinky (Danny Drinkwater) actually. It was his second yellow or something and he could’ve easily sent him off but he didn’t.”

Clattenburg took charge of four Leicester games that season and didn’t book Drinkwater in any of them.

He brandished four yellow cards to Leicester players in those games, with Robert Huth collecting three and Jamie Vardy receiving the other.

Clattenburg has been left angry at the claims and is considering his options.

“I fully deny the allegations made by Danny Simpson. I find them preposterous,” he told the Daily Mail. “They are very serious and could question my integrity.

“To suggest I told a player that I wanted Leicester to win the league is ridiculous. It would have been picked up by our microphones.

“I did not book Danny Drinkwater during that season. His claims have absolutely no substance and I have no idea why, seven years later, he has chosen to say this. The matter is now with my lawyer.”