"Mikel almost ruined my career and he has never apologised" - Former FIFA World Cup referee

English referee Mark Clattenburg says former Super Eagles Captain John Mike Obi almost ruined his career nine years ago.



The English named the Super Eagles legend among the most annoying player he ever referred during his successful career that saw him handled the biggest matches in the world at the time.

Clattenburg landed in controversy back in 2011, after Mikel claimed he racially abused him in a game between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stanford Bridge.


Mikel reportedly walked into the referees changing room and threatened to break Clattenburg's leg after being told of the abuse by his then teammates Ramires who does not speak English.

"I have picked Mikel because of the incident during a Chelsea v Manchester United match in 2012 when he accused me of making a racist comment, which was not right and I was later cleared by the FA".

"He has never apologised and that is disappointing because it could have ruined my life. 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."

Clattenburg was later cleared of any wrong doing by the English FA, however the English man claimed Mikel never apologised to after that.

Clattenburg remain one of the most successful referees ever, as he has referred the champions league final, European Championship final, FA Cup final and FIFA World Cup final