Mikel Obi almost made me quit refereeing – Ex-EPL referee, Mark Clattenburg

Former Premier League referee, Mark Clattenburg, has revealed that allegations made by former Chelsea midfielder, John Mikel Obi, almost made him quit.

In 2012, Clattenburg was accused of racially abusing the Nigerian player.

This followed a 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.

Clattenburg had sent off two Chelsea players Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres and the officials missed an offside for United’s winning goal.

In his new autobiography, Whistle-Blower, he wrote: “Chelsea made a formal complaint to the FA three days after the game. They were saying I had racially abused Mikel and for the first time, I was made aware of the specifics of their accusation, which was also leaked to the press.

“According to Chelsea, I had said to Mikel, ‘Shut up, you monkey.’ The language disgusted me, it was damaging and fictitious.

“Twenty-five days after the game, the FA dismissed the case. I was not guilty, something I had known all along.”