John Mikel Obi charged with misconduct – Chelsea almost ruined Mark Clattenburg’s life

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.