Former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg admits he has not forgiven Mikel John Obi for their race row. Mikel had, while still a Chelsea player, accused Clattenburg of racially abusing him during Manchester United’s 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge in 2012.
“I had sent off two Chelsea players and there was an offside goal late on as well. Mikel came into my dressing room and certain things happened which I’ll leave in there. But then Ramires made the allegation that I’d called Mikel a monkey on the pitch. The media were camped outside my house for days on end. It made world news. That is hard to deal with, I tell you. I knew it wasn’t true, but I could not speak. Me and my family went through hell — I even thought about quitting,” Clattenburg narrated.
Clattenburg admits he’s still angry about the saga. “If Mikel had come out and apologised, OK, be a man about it,” he says. “But I haven’t got respect for someone who makes a mistake on someone else’s allegation and can’t then say sorry.”