Referee Mark Clattenburg was caught up in a storm on Sunday night after being accused of aiming a racist insult at Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel during their 3-2 home defeat by Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea made a complaint to the Premier League after Mikel stormed into the refereeâs room to demand an apology after claiming Clattenburg made a racist slur when he booked the midfielder in the 76th minute. One of Chelseaâs Spanish stars is also involved after players claim they heard Clattenburg refer to him as âa Spanish t**t Chelsea made the official complaint at 7.45pm on Sunday night, but Clattenburg had already been confronted by then. Chief executive Ron Gourlay, with Mikel and manager Roberto Di Matteo, demanded an apology during stormy scenes in the refereeâs room. Clattenburg refused and Chelsea decided to take the incredible action of launching an immediate complaint to the Premier League over his language. According to sources close to the players, they are willing to make statements to the FAâs disciplinary committee this week. A club spokesman said: âWe have lodged a complaint to the Premier League match delegate with regards to inappropriate language used by the referee and directed at two of our players in two separate incidents in todayâs match. The match delegate will pass the complaint to the FA.â The matter is now in the hands of the FA and Premier League officials, who will ask Sky TV for footage from the 20 camera angles used for live matches. While not all are recorded, they should help confirm whether Clattenburg made an inappropriate or racially aggravated comment. Read more at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...st-slurs-John-Obi-Mikel-Chelsea-complain.html
Being referred to by colour is racist because it has undertones implying inferiority. To claim being referred to as a Spanish/English/Scottish twat is racist is insulting to people who have really suffered. Not pleasant, but not enough for a man to make an issue of surely? It doesn't even ring true as something you would shout at someone...my guess is that he might have muttered it as he turned away. Doubt we'd have heard anything about it if Chelsea had won.
Yeah the "Spanish twat" bit was in addition to a racial comment made to Mikel, so I'm sure you'd agree that that is serious. It is pretty ironic that known racist harbourers Chelsea are complaining about this, all I can say is the allegations had better be true. Not sure what all this stuff about camera angles is on about, aren't the refs miked up? Surely all they need to do is listen to the recording?
Apparently it is not recorded. Don't you think it unlikely that an experienced professional referee who is insulted on a regular basis would suddenly make a racist remark. I will await evidence, but still think it was because Chelsea were unhappy with his performance.
I do think that's unlikely but surely it's even more unlikely that a club which has been tainted by racism charges in the very recent past would go around accusing others of the same crime without good reason. It would be sheer lunacy for them to accuse him of racism just because they were unhappy with his refereeing, and I would expect the club, Mata and Mikel to be severely censured for bringing false allegations of this kind against an official. For that reason I'm inclined to think there is probably something in this.
Oh lord, I don't think I can bear another long running racism saga. I don't know if any of this is true or not, Mikel was booked for dissent after the winning goal so I guess it was around that time. All I know is that Mark Clattenberg is one of the top refs and the circumstances of all this seem very strange. It just adds to my feeling that the stuff we watch for 90 minutes on a Saturday/Sunday is a sideshow to the important business of daily speculation, accusation and argument.
If it was at the time that Mikel was booked (rather than some other time), he certainly did not look outraged.
Goodness me what is this daft world coming to ? Another football racist allegation story to wind the media up again - there is a bloody great world out there away from football matches that makes this ongoing twaddle utterly insignificant. To the billions out there who are not football lovers it must seem so god damned trivial compared to their every day struggle in life - as it does to some of us who are football supporters. Ref this particular story - it is difficult to imagine that an experienced referee in the most scrutinised football league in the world would hurl serious abuse at any player ! Ref the spanish t--- story - well grow up ffs - when i am working in spanish speaking shipyards in south america etc i regularly get called a 'bastardo ingles' or 'bastardo gringo ' and it certainly doesnt upset me, i just give them some similar complimement in spanish in return and we laugh about it + share a glass of vino collapso afterwards. Get a life you big girl football players !
So far, all that's been said is 'inappropriate language.' Have any of the protagonists said that it was racist? As I've said before, wouldn't have been an issue if they hadn't lost and had 2 players sent off.
This is not a South American shipyard and being called a gringo is not the same as being racially abused if you are black. I imagine to those who aren't football fans they will still be concerned that racism infects the national game at the highest level. If you are not then then you are with the racists. Like dman you are trivialising the issue. Yes, they have said the language used was racist, and yes of course it still would have been an issue if they had won. When in history has a defeated team accused an unfavourable referee of being a racist?
I know this is from the Daily Mail again but looks like he has done something like this(if true) before. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo.../Mark-Clattenburg--controversial-referee.html
It not trivialising - its comparing the real world out there with the media-driven politicaly correct rubbish that currently surrounds football ( a bloody game for goodness sake ). Going by your reply to my posts on this site you seem to love this media-driven pc crap. And how do you know what being called a bastardo gringo is the same as ? It is intended in excatly the same way as any insult - to wind you up. I would suggest that you have no experience of life at all boyo.
Except you said that you all have a laugh about it and have some wine after, which clearly shows they're just messing about. If you think a little race-based banter with your work mates is the same as hostile racism with intention to offend, then you're the one who knows nothing about the world mate.
4 match ban and a weeks wages fine for Clattenberg if he is guilty??? Don't think Chelsea can gripe about that!!
I certainly dont know everything, unlike the impression some of you university educated ( at a guess ) know-alls like to impart, but i certainly do know plenty about the ways of the world away from this media hyped football rubbish Mr Steinberg. You do not understand what i am refering to at all - these are not work mates and the comments are certainly intended to offend short term ( just as couple of footballers or a ref/footballer having a spat are )- but its how you man up to this type of comment that makes the diiference. You certainly know if its something meant with hate as opposed to something said in the heat of the moment. But you little boys wouldnt know anything about that so i'm probably wasting my time typing it.
Yeah I love what you call "media-driven pc crap", but I call it "not being a bigot". I just find it amazing that to you a South American shipyard is a paragon of good conduct that we should all aspire to. Is "boyo" a racial slur by the way?
I may be a cynical git, but I think I detect a variation on the old, "you're only picking on me because I'm black" defence I sometimes encountered when managing large numbers of staff in my last job. Baseless accusations of racism would be made as a smokescreen, and senior (mostly white) managers were so scared of having to deal with grievances of a racial nature, that the initial transgression by the employee would be hastily forgotten. In this case it's a case of "let's accuse the ref of racism, then the FA will conveniently forget the bad behaviour of the Chelsea players."
