By SAMI MOKBEL
Chelsea refused to offer Mark Clattenburg any kind of apology last night for wrongly accusing the Premier League referee of racially abusing John Mikel Obi.
The Football Association concluded their three-week investigation into events during the explosive clash between Manchester United and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on October 28 by completely exonerating a match official who, it was alleged, had called Mikel a ‘monkey’.
Mikel was charged by the FA over the angry confrontation in Clattenburg’s dressing room following the match.
But even after the FA exposed the irrational nature of the accusations yesterday, Chelsea officials did not have the decency to say sorry to a 37-year-old family man who spoke of this being the most stressful time of his professional life and feared the case would wreck his career.
After a visit from a member of the FA’s governance team yesterday, Clattenburg emerged from 26 days of personal turmoil to issue a statement.
‘I am looking forward to putting this behind me and concentrating on refereeing in the Premier League and other competitions,’ he said.
‘The messages of encouragement from those inside and outside of the game have helped me through the most stressful time of my professional life.
‘To know you were innocent of something but that there was the opportunity for it to wreck your career was frightening.
‘Racism has no place in football and this experience should not discourage those to speak out if they genuinely believe they are a victim of abuse. However, there are processes that should be adhered in order that any investigation can be carried out in a manner that is fair for all parties involved.
‘I know first-hand the ramifications of allegations of this nature being placed into the public domain ahead of a formal process and investigation. I hope no referee has to go through this in the future.
‘We are fortunate to be working in the world’s most watched and scrutinised football league. With that comes a responsibility in regard to how the different parts of the game work together.’
Clattenburg’s statement highlights the fact that Chelsea’s briefing of the media prior to a formal process and investigation offended him deeply.
The referees’ union, Prospect, will lobby to ensure Chelsea compensate Clattenburg and issue a public apology, while it is also understood they want the club to make a sizeable donation to anti-racism charity Kick It Out.
Alan Leighton, national secretary of Prospect, said: ‘There was no doubt he was innocent.There are lessons to be learned. Mark is very upset his reputation has been dragged through the mud by this process. There was no need for Chelsea to make the public aware of the allegation.
‘There is also an issue of flimsiness about the evidence provided. We need Chelsea to accept the verdict, apologise to Mark and compensate him for that.’
The FA statement highlighted ‘the essential facts’ that proved there was no substance in Chelsea’s allegations.
It said: ‘The evidence for the allegation came from one witness, Ramires. Ramires, whose first language is not English, explained that his instinctive reaction was to seek confirmation from John Mikel Obi as to what the referee had said.’
’John Mikel Obi, who was being spoken to by the referee, was much closer to the referee than Ramires and did not hear what it is suggested was said to him.
’Three other witnesses, i.e. the other match officials, to whom everything said by referee was relayed via their communication equipment, are adamant the alleged words were not uttered. There is nothing in the video footage to support the allegation.’
’For completeness, but of lesser weight, two other players, whose first language is English and were in the vicinity, did not hear anything untoward.’
The FA said they had to re-interview Ramires ‘to show him the previously unseen video footage provided by the club’.
‘At this stage, for the first time, the exact point at which the comment was alleged to have been made was established,’ the statement continued.
The complaint collapsed with the emergence of that video. All the witnesses were then interviewed again, with Ramires even unsure as to when the alleged incident occurred.
Mike Riley, general manager of Professional Game Match Officials Limited, said: ‘It is PGMOL’s considered view that Mark is completely exonerated of the allegation and he will return to active duty shortly without any stain on his character or reputation.
‘Regrettably, Mark has had to endure four weeks that have brought massive disruption to his professional and personal life through no fault of his own.’
Despite widespread criticism, Chelsea were adamant last night they followed all FA protocol over their allegations.
The club’s case was based largely on evidence given by Mikel’s team-mate Ramires, who claimed he had heard the referee refer to Mikel as a ‘monkey’ in the 69th minute.
The FA said yesterday they believed Ramires had acted ‘in good faith’ but Mikel did not hear anything himself.
Chelsea were yesterday satisfied the FA, in their statement, said the club had acted in an appropriate way.
While Clattenburg has been cleared, Mikel has been charged by the FA with using ‘threatening and/or abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour in or around the officials changing room’ after hearing of the accusations made by his team-mates against Clattenburg.
