Chelsea legends, Mikel Obi in blue jersey
Legendary Premier League referee, Mark Clattenburg has recounted one of the most traumatic moments in his career when he was nearly beaten up at Stamford Bridge by Chelsea's Mikel Obi.
Mark Clattenburg in 2012 officiated a very controversial game between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge where Fernando Torres and Branislav Ivanovic were sent off.
The match officials in the game on Sunday, October 28, 2012, also missed Javier Hernández's winning goal, and that caused some outglared amongst the Chelsea players and fans at the Stadium.
“John Mikel Obi Mikel once swung at me in the referee’s room at Stamford Bridge.
“He screamed he wanted to break my legs and was being held back by Roberto Di Matteo and Eddie Newton,” Mark Clattenburg said as quoted by Chris Wheatley of Goal.com on March 21, 2023.
On this same incident, Mark Clattenburg in his autobiography titled Whistle Blower narrated that he was lucky to have escaped a physical encounter with Mikel Obi as the player was filled with rage and was very determined to hurt him.
According to Clattenburg, he knew the Chelsea fans were going to abuse him after the game in question but the look on Mikel Obi's face made him scared.
It was reported that Mikel Obi tried to attack Clattenburg for racially abusing him and his teammate Juan Mata but the referee claimed that he never made any racial comments.
Mikel despite, accusing Clattenburg of racially abusing him and Mata was given a three-match ban and fined £60,000 for threatening the referee after being charged with misconduct by the FA.
Read Mark Clattenburg's full narration of the incident below:
"I knew to expect a tirade of abuse from Chelsea supporters, but I was not beating myself up over my performance. It was then that I heard a commotion outside the dressing room door.
What the hell’s going on out there? Before I get to the door it swings open, and with some force. I jump back, instinctively. What the f***? John Obi Mikel bursts in. I can see the rage in his eyes. Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo and coach Eddie Newton are holding him back. Mikel is out of control, he’s trying to get at me.
‘I’m gonna break your legs!’ he shouts. F****** hell, he’s swinging for me. There are arms everywhere. I’m ducking to avoid them. A security guy is grappling with Mikel, pulling him away. That’s not easy, Mikel is strong.
I’ve got my boots on, I’m slipping all over the place. I’m knocked backward into some seats. I just try to defend myself. He’s still hellbent on hurting me. Get him out of here! Mikel is eventually dragged back into the corridor. What the f*** has just happened?
Di Matteo eventually returned to my dressing room. Like me, he was shaking. I got the impression Chelsea were concerned about what I was going to include in my report.
I have to be clear here – and this is extremely important – at this point there had been no mention of racism to me, either from Mikel or Di Matteo. No one had made any accusation of that nature.
Was I going to report Mikel for what he had done in the dressing room? Absolutely. There was no disputing what he did. Mikel would be facing a lengthy ban," he said as quoted by dailymail.co.uk.
Mark Clattenburg added that it was the most traumatic moment in his young career and even feared going to prison if proven guilty of the allegations.
"I am trapped. A prisoner in my own home. A prisoner in my own head. I am not allowed to speak. Not allowed to tell the world I am innocent. I can’t sleep. No chance. I’m upstairs, downstairs, cups of tea at 3 a.m. I’m reading the newspapers online. I’m watching the TV news. I’m checking social media. It’s not healthy but I need to know what is being said, I need to try to make sense of this. The bolt is on the door but my head is being invaded by the outside world."
"If I dare to look out from the window the photographers and journalists are there, waiting. Then they hide, like snipers, all around, all wanting the first picture. There have been lots of tears. 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. Guilty until proven innocent, that is the English way."
