Why Mikel Is Among My Most Annoying Players – Referee Mark Clattenburg

An English football referee, Mark Clattenburg has revealed why he listed Nigerian midfielder,  Mikel Obi as one of the most annoying players he has officiated.
Asides Mikel, Clattenburg listed Jens Lehmann, Roy Keane, Craig Bellamy and Pepe as the most annoying players in his many years of experience.
In a column on Sportsmail, the 45-year-old, said Mikel had falsely accused him of racist comments and refused to apologise after he was found innocent.
He added that Mikel had acted on an allegation by his then Chelsea teammate, Ramires, who did not speak English. He said while other Chelsea players had apologised to him after finding out he was innocent, Mikel had refused to do same.
Clattenburg said he had met Mikel again during a friendly match in the United States but he still did not apologise to him.
He revealed that Mikel’s allegation had been a major low in his career as he considered quitting. He however chose to be strong because he had a family to support.
“I have picked Mikel because of the incident during a Chelsea v Manchester United match in 2012 when he accused me of making a racist comment, which was not right and I was later cleared by the FA, ” he wrote about Mikel.“He has never apologised and that is disappointing because it could have ruined my life. I fell out of love with refereeing for a while after that but couldn’t quit because I had a family to support and no other career to pursue.
“It all left a bad feeling that still lingers today.
“Mikel only heard the allegation from his team-mate Ramires, who did not speak English. Other Chelsea players have since apologised but nothing from Mikel.
“He had the chance to say sorry and speak to me about it during a Nigeria friendly in the United States before the World Cup in 2014, and I would have welcomed that, but nothing, sadly,” he said.