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By Bunmi Ogunyale
Former Premier League referee, Mark Clattenburg has revealed that he’s still pained by John Obi Mikel racial claims.
Clattenburg, one of the Premier League’s most famous referees and he has been involved in his fair share of incidents over the years.
Clattenburg spent 13 years as a top-flight referee before heading to Saudi Arabia in 2017 to become the country’s head of refereeing.
During his time in charge of matches, in the Premier League as well as Champions League and international fixtures, Clattenburg was charged with keeping order.
That was easier said than done when the games involved some of the sport’s most infamous trouble-makers.
In an interview with The Daily Mail, Clattenburg has named and shamed the five worst offenders he ever had to deal with.
Former Chelsea midfielder Mikel accused the referee of making a racist comment, but Clattenburg was later cleared by the FA of any wrongdoing.
“He has never apologised and that is disappointing because it could have ruined my life,” he said.
“I fell out of love with refereeing for a while after that but couldn’t quit because I had a family to support and no other career to pursue.
“It all left a bad feeling that still lingers today.”
