By Oyinlola Awonuga Balogun (The New Diplomat’s Entertainment, Fashion and Sports Desk)
Former Chelsea midfielder, John Mikel Obi, has recently disclosed he does not need to apologize to ex-Premier League referee, Mark Clattenburg, over a racism row that happened in far back in 2012.
According to reports, the scenario happened in the Blues’ 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Mikel Obi’s teammate at the time, Ramires, claimed he heard a racist slur aimed at the Nigerian from Clattenburg.
Ramires had claimed he heard Clattenburg say “shut up you monkey,” however the referee has since denied uttering the racist words.
Speaking to The Athletic recently, Mikel Obi said: “In the heat of the game, players go through emotions.
“Your colleague said they heard something, but they may not have heard right. Did he say it or not? I didn’t know.
“But if your colleague comes up to you, of course, you’re going to trust what they say, someone you see and speak to every day.
“So I can’t apologise for something that my colleague said he (Clattenburg) said.”
The allegations however saw Clattenburg miss four weekends of Premier League fixtures, before he was cleared by the Football Association.
The police would later drop their own inquiry into the allegations.
