Mark Clattenburg claims 'Chelsea wanted payback' when star 'swung for him' in racism row

Daily Mirror

30-07-2025

John Obi Mikel allegedly burst into Mark Clattenburg's dressing room "swinging" for the Premier League referee, who has accused Chelsea of "wanting payback" for a previous racism row
Ex-Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg has accused Chelsea of sparking a racism row to get back at him for John Terry 's own alleged racism incident. The former official, 50, has also shed light on his controversy surrounding the club, accusing John Obi Mikel of trying to punch him.
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Back in October 2012, Clattenburg took charge of Chelsea 's 3-2 defeat at home to Manchester United. After the heated match, he was accused of making a racial slur to Mikel during the game. He was later cleared by The FA, while the midfielder was banned and fined £60,000 for threatening the official.
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Speaking to Undr The Cosh, Clattenburg was asked if he thought Chelsea felt they had to back their player after the Nigerian star's accusation. But Clattenburg instead speculated that the west London club were trying to get 'payback' after their captain Terry was banned for an incident involving QPR 's Anton Ferdinand a year earlier.
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Terry was banned and fined £220,000 by The FA after they found he had racially abused Ferdinand, though he was cleared by Westminster Magistrates' Court of any criminal wrongdoing.
Clattenburg, who retired in 2017, said: 'I don't believe it had anything to do with that [backing Mikel]. I think it was a payback, I honestly do. For John Terry and Anton Ferdinand, QPR vs Chelsea, when John was accused of saying some words to Anton.
'The balance of probability is different from The FA (Football Association] to the English law. So The FA charged him and he was found guilty. So I feel like that [the Mikel incident] was to get back at the refereeing.
'Because [Chelsea vs United] was a controversial game. I gave a goal, the assistant didn't give an offside and the third goal was controversial. Also, I'd sent off Fernando Torres for a dive after already sending off another Chelsea player earlier in the match, so I'm probably guilty of enhancing the tension.
'They were probably upset with the result and I just felt that they went bang, 'I'm after the referee.' Because I didn't know I'd been accused of anything until an hour after the match when I was walking through Heathrow Airport and it's breaking news on the phone.'
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Explaining his bust-up with Mikel, Clattenburg alleged: 'The drug testing was next to our dressing room with Chelsea and there was a bit of commotion outside our dressing room so I opened the door thinking, 'What the f***ing hell's going on here?' As I opened the door Obi Mikel came bursting through."
Clattenburg claimed: 'Then he started swinging punches. I ducked and he tried to pin me against the wall. I didn't know what had gone on at that point.
'A delegate came down and after that attempted assault, all they were talking about was what I was going to report – nothing about racism, only what happened in the dressing room with Obi Mikel. An hour later, I was accused of being a racist.'
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Mirror Football has contacted John Obi Mikel and Chelsea FC for comment regarding the allegations made.
The Durham-born referee recently explained how the accusation of racism marked a desperate period for him and his family, even going on to say that he may have taken his own life if it was not for his young daughter.
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Clattenburg said on The High Performance podcast: "My daughter. My child, because she didn't deserve it. She was only little.
"I brought her into the world and it was my responsibility to look after her. If I wasn't so strong-willed, I'm not sure I would be here today."
Clattenburg, who also has a son Nathan from his first marriage, added that he would also have liked to have quit football but couldn't because he "had a mortgage to pay".
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