The ex-referee spoke about one of the most high-profile scandals in his career.
Former referee of the English Premier League Mark Clattenburg has long ceased to play his country's national championship matches, occupying a more official position at the head of the refereeing corps of Saudi Arabia. However, the scandalous situations that accompanied his professional career as an arbiter still echo to this day.. He decided to talk about one of these in his autobiography..
After the Chelsea match against Manchester United (2: 3), the English referee was accused of racist insults against Nigerian John Obi Mikel and Spaniard Juan Mata, and at the same time, during the game, Mark was marked by a series of far from obvious decisions.
The deletions of Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres infuriated the representatives of the “pensioners”, and after the guests scored the winning goal from an offside position, the stream of hatred towards Themis' servant could no longer be stopped. In his biography, entitled "
\? Before I can get to the referees' dressing room door, it swings open forcefully in my direction.. I jump back and John Obi Mikel rushes into the room.. I can see the anger in his eyes as Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo and coach Eddie Newton struggle to contain it..
Mikel lost control of himself at that moment, and tried to grab me. \! " The security guy tried to intervene at this point, but pushing Mikel away was not easy.. I slipped and flew to the seats behind me, after which I tried to protect myself with anything.. Mikel was hardly dragged away from me then, after which it remained only to ask: \?
Di Matteo then returned to our dressing room. He was shaking no less than me. At the time, I got the impression that Chelsea was very worried about what exactly I would write in my game report. I finished all my business and then left Stamford Bridge, but on the way to the airport I was overtaken by a press report that Chelsea accused me of racism towards Obi Mikel and Juan Mata. I knew perfectly well that this could ruin my whole life.
During those hours of late Sunday evening, I realized the full power of football clubs and their control over the media and public opinion, which only reinforced the blind loyalty of the fans.. It was terrible. National champions against a referee who, in their opinion, stripped them of their points. Which side would you be on?
I was trapped. Trapped in my own home, my own head. I had no right to speak, so I couldn't tell the world that I was innocent. I couldn't sleep, I read newspapers, I watched the news, I checked social networks.. This is an unhealthy situation, but I needed to understand what exactly people didn't like about my actions..
As soon as I went to the window, journalists and photographers appeared there.. They were just all over the place like snipers. We just wanted to get the first photo. Many tears were shed in those days, as I realized that this could ruin my career, and my whole life.. This fear is worse than the fear of going to jail.. They called me a racist - it's like a life-long, from which you can no longer wash it off.
The phrases " Oriol Romeu said that Mata then confirmed that he had not heard such a thing addressed to him.. The club then dropped the charge, but filed a complaint with the FA..
It was at that moment that Alex Ferguson intervened: “Mark, I spoke to my players, and they didn’t hear you say what Chelsea is accusing you of now.. I believe in justice, so we will be on your side, "
FA closed case after 25 days.
In addition, Mikela was suspended for three games for events in the dressing room.. However, no one in front of me has ever apologized. I think that these sanctions were far from the maximum, compared to those that Chelsea could receive. In the end, since the disqualification was not removed from me either, and it turns out that the referee missed more than the player "
Do you want to be aware of all the events? Football. ua launched applications on Android and iOS!
Follow the links and be in trend! Android App, iOS App.