Former Premier League Referee Reveals Why He Cannot Forgive Mikel Obi Nine Years After

Former Premier League Referee Reveals Why He Cannot Forgive Mikel Obi Nine Years After

Babajide Orevba
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:48 PM
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  • Mark Clattenburg has disclosed that Mikel Obi’s racist allegation against him during his active days was a bad moment of his career
  • The former official, in his soon-to-be-released book, stated that the incident could have ended his professional career
  • The allegation occurred during a heated Chelsea vs Manchester United encounter and Mikel had the backing of his club

A former English referee, Mark Clattenburg, has disclosed that he cannot forgive ex-Chelsea defensive midfielder Mikel Obi and the club over racist comments, Premium Times reports.

Nine years after the incident, the ex-Premier League official stated that the allegation almost ruined his career and he does not have time for the former Super Eagles captain.

Clattenburg officiated matches at the highest level in England for 13 years and was named among the best European referees, but one dark incident occurred during a Chelsea vs Manchester United match.

Former Premier League Referee Reveals Why He Cannot Forgive Mikel Obi Nine Years After
Mark Clattenburg not happy with Mikel Obi. Photo: AMA/Corbis
Source: Getty Images

It was gathered that Mikel Obi had the backing of his club Chelsea when the player made a racist allegation against the official during his active days.

In his soon-to-be-released autobiography called ‘Whistle Blower’, Clattenburg opened up on the 'sad' allegation episode and also revealed why he is yet to forgive Mikel almost a decade after.

Clattenburg said via GiveMeSport:

“As for Mikel, I have no time for him whatsoever. I cannot forgive someone who has refused to apologise to me.
“This could ruin my career. It could ruin my life. The fear is worse than going to prison. I am being called a racist. That is a real life sentence, you don’t come back from that.”

Chelsea believed the case was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt. He added:

“Terry was found not guilty in a court of law. That is why, I believe, they may have pursued the allegation against me, to test the FA’s balance of probability standard.”

Mikel Obi’s twin-daughters clock 6

Former Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi has taken to his Instagram handle to celebrate his two daughters who clock six on September 14.

The former Chelsea star welcomed the girls in 2015 during his time at the Stamford Bridge club and shared the news to his followers on social media.

His Russian girlfriend Olga Diyachenko delivered their twin-girls and they have continued to celebrate them on social media.

Quite a number of his followers have taken to the comment section of the post to also extend their warm greetings to the birthday girls.

Latest Premier League standings

Legit.ng earlier reported that Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool stretched their unbeaten run to five games in the Premier League so far this campaign.

All three teams have now won four games and drawn one as they currently have 13 points each as the table continues to take shape.

But, the Blues are the current table-toppers despite having the goals difference with the Merseyside outfit having scored 12 goals and conceded just one in their first five games.

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Babajide Orevba
Babajide Orevba is a CAF accredited Nigerian journalist and HOD of the Local Desk with over 10 years of experience in media landscape.He studied NCE Political Science/Social Studies, AOCOED.
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