An English soccer referee has been accused of abusing both a Nigerian and a Spanish player during Chelsea’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
Mark Clattenburg is now being investigated by the English Football Association over these claims, with Chelsea having made a formal complaint against the official which states that he used “inappropriate language” towards two of their players during the contest. It is believed the two footballers are John Obi-Mikel and Juan Mata, the latter of which scored during the game.
Part of the allegation is that Clattenburg also used racial language to describe both of the individuals, and as a consequence of this, he has not been picked to officiate a match over this weekend’s set of fixtures.
The Professional Game Match Officials board, FA, and representatives of a proposed potential black players’ breakaway union have each released statements supporting their representatives.
It is now believed that the complaint rests on evidence supplied by the assistant referees and fourth official from the contest, as they will have heard every word that Clattenburg uttered during the game. Unfortunately they’re not recorded though.
Michael McDonough, Simon Long, and Michael Jones would have heard the conversations between Clattenburg and the players whilst it has now also been revealed that the Metropolitan Police have begun their investigation into the affair, which could see Chelsea embroiled in yet another racial court case.
Clattenburg is reported to strenuously deny the claims, whilst it has also been confirmed that neither Chelsea or the FA were behind the police complaint regarding the abuse.
