Chelsea stars now claim referee Clattenburg told Mikel: 'Shut up you monkey' as club's race case looks in jeopardy.

•Two players have told teammates this is what Premier League official said in alleged outburst
•Clattenburg confident he will be cleared of wrongdoing, with source saying: 'He said nothing of the sort - and he will fight this all the way'
•Chelsea's legal case could collapse as it has gone to external lawyers who may believe the claims made by players do not stand up

By Neil Ashton , Sami Mokbel and Martin Robinson http://www.dailymail.co.uk
31 October 2012


The race-row that has engulfed Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg intensified further today as two Chelsea players claimed they heard him call teammate John Obi Mikel a 'monkey'.

It has emerged that the pair of unnamed stars say this is what happened during their match with Manchester United on Sunday - but the official categorically denies making any racist comments.


Clattenburg has been accused of saying to Mikel: 'Shut up you monkey' as he booked him for dissent as well as calling Juan Mata a ‘Spanish t***’ in their 3-2 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

Mystery had surrounded what Clattenburg actually said to Mikel - until these allegations were made this morning.


But a source close to the referee told The Sun: 'He said nothing of the sort - and he will fight this all the way.

'There is a lot of noise on the pitch and the players could have easily misheard.'

Meanwhile, Chelsea's race case against Clattenburg is in serious danger of collapsing completely after it emerged that the club have employed independent lawyers to investigate the claims of their players.

The club are expected to conclude their internal investigation into allegations that the referee racially abused John Mikel Obi and swore at Juan Mata.

The external lawyers will then provide Chelsea with legal opinion as to whether their case will be successful. Despite issues over the available evidence, Chelsea remained robust.

Clattenburg, who has been taken off the Premier League match list this weekend, has protested his innocence since his controversial handling of Chelsea’s 3-2 defeat by Manchester United on Sunday.

Now it has emerged that Chelsea are fearful of the backlash if the players have misheard or misjudged Clattenburg’s conversations during the stormy clash against United.

Chelsea will proceed with the case against the referee only if they are satisfied the claims made by the players after the game will stand up to the FA’s burden of proof.
It means they will need to satisfy an FA commission ‘on the balance of probability’, but they also have to negotiate the complexities of the Metropolitan Police’s investigation into the affair.

If the case breaks down, it will reflect badly on Chelsea, who made their claims of inappropriate language against Clattenburg in a strongly worded statement on Sunday, two hours after the final whistle.

Earlier it emerged that the club and Mikel could be charged with misconduct by the FA after the midfielder had to be restrained from manhandling the referee in his dressing room following the clash.

Clattenburg did not mention the behaviour in the ‘extraordinary incident’ report he filed on Sunday, but he now has to make a detailed statement to the FA. Clattenburg’s assistants, Michael McDonough and Simon Long, and fourth official Mike Jones have filed reports in which they say they did not hear the Durham official say anything inappropriate.

All four were in the referee’s room when Mikel burst in with Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay and manager Roberto Di Matteo.

Mikel’s aggressive manner, along with the behaviour of other Chelsea officials, raises the possibility of FA action against the club.

Both Mikel and Mata claim they have a witness to Clattenburg’s comments, and PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor, who has assessed both complaints, told Sportsmail the pair have his ‘100 per cent support’.


However, it has emerged that the allegations about the referee’s comments were made only after a debate in the Chelsea dressing room. Mikel and Ramires were discussing the alleged use of racist language and were then quizzed by senior Chelsea players about what they had heard before the matter was taken further.

Sunday’s controversy is also the subject of a police investigation and Clattenburg will be interviewed by them as well as the FA, who are conducting a separate inquiry into his handling of the clash.


The PFA had a delegate at the game and he has discussed the matter with Taylor, who said: ‘The main thing is that the police investigation will not affect the process at the FA.


‘We are supportive of the players and they have our 100 per cent backing. I find it difficult to believe that Chelsea’s players would make something like this up. At the same time I find it hard to conclude that a referee could say something of this nature.’


Clattenburg found an unlikely ally in Leeds manager Neil Warnock, who said he was disgusted with Chelsea for ‘trying to kill’ the official.


Warnock, preparing for Leeds’ Capital One Cup win over Southampton last night, was critical of the accusations against Clattenburg, who enraged Chelsea by sending off Fernando Torres for diving when replays showed he had been fouled.




Warnock said: ‘You know my relationship with referees but I have to say I am disgusted with what’s gone on. I’m on Clattenburg’s side. We ask referees to man-manage and that’s what he does. I’m sure he might have said a few things but are you telling me if Chelsea had won that game that there would have been one iota of a complaint?


‘I hope if it is proved wrong, that the players, whatever they alleged Mark to have said, get done as well. I think he made a mistake but they are trying to kill him and I don’t agree with that.’


In a further development, police chiefs upgraded security at Stamford Bridge for the Capital One Cup tie against United as tension between the teams threatens to escalate.

Warnock said: ‘You know my relationship with referees but I have to say I am disgusted with what’s gone on. I’m on Clattenburg’s side. We ask referees to man-manage and that’s what he does. I’m sure he might have said a few things but are you telling me if Chelsea had won that game that there would have been one iota of a complaint?

has warnock met sir alex ???

Only my opinion but there is absolutely no chance on earth that a ref would call a black player a "monkey" in this day and age.It's a quite ludicrous accusation.

i find it hard to believe that he would say it, and hard to believe a club would make a claim
that he did, if he didnt


seems a total lack of evidence to support either side

clattenburgs friend spinning a story to the sun would be a further worry about clattenburg

I wouldn't want to be in Clattenburg's shoes, he cant win no matter what happens now. If he brings more trouble to Chelsea then the fans will be after his blood even more than they are already, possible attacks, death threats etc. He will be forever seen as a racist. It will get even worse if there is a court case. His reputation might well be so damaged that he won't be able to continue as a referee.

Chelsea have a issues with match officials ever since that infamous Barcelona Champions League match. I think what they are doing now is brought on by that anxiety. They are determined to fight back against what they see as blatant cheating. I think this was one bad decision too many, the straw that broke the camels back.

is it common for players to invade the refs dressing room after the game

the f a should stamp that out too ...

berto77 31 Oct 12 11:06
I thought he got the second Torres booking wrong.

The winning goal was offside but that was the lino's decision.

So one major bad decision.  I just don't think he had the shocker some have made out.


The one major bad decision he made was to give Torres the first yellow.  It should have been a red.  Other than that the ref did very well.

I really hope the ref's go on strike, fans will stay away and these overpaid fkin ponces will see what its like in the real world.

john ?

won kenobi

CHELSEA STATEMENT

Posted on: Wed 31 Oct 2012

http://www.chelseafc.com


Chelsea Football Club today lodged a formal complaint with The Football Association regarding inappropriate language directed at John Mikel Obi by referee Mark Clattenburg. This is a result of a thorough investigation carried out by the club, and led by outside legal counsel, of all information available to us including interviews with a number of players and staff.


Following Sunday's Premier League game against Manchester United, club board members were quickly made aware, upon entering the home dressing room after the final whistle, that there were allegations of inappropriate language directed at Chelsea FC players by Mr Clattenburg during the game.


Board members began establishing the details of the allegations, speaking to all relevant players and staff. After those initial interviews it was clear that the matter had to be reported. The correct protocol for doing so was to report the incidents to the match delegate, and the club took immediate steps to inform him as soon as he was available. It was not a decision the club took lightly.


Since reporting the matter to the delegate, the club and outside legal counsel have conducted further investigations. Having completed that process we have now followed the correct protocol and lodged a formal complaint with The FA regarding John Mikel Obi. There was not sufficient evidence to support a second claim to The FA with regard to the alleged verbal abuse of another first team player.


We will cooperate fully with The FA and the Police as they each investigate the matter. As events on Sunday are now subject to those investigations we are unable to comment further until those processes are complete.

I'd bet 1.01 that Clattenburg did not call Mikel a monkey. It just didn't happen. 'Shut up Mikel' or something like that is probably what happened and has been misheard by the other players. I'm totally amazed that Chelsea are pursuing this. Surely they would know that the chances of a miked up ref making such a comment are bordering on zero. I'm shocked that this is the accusation. Clattenburg will be found not guilty and hopefully Chelsea will be taken to the cleaners.

Nothing awkward about it all. It's just so unlikely that a ref would make such a comment. The balance of probability is clear to any neutral.

Let's hope the refs hit back and send off any Premier League player who uses foul language at the weekend.