Former Chelsea midfielder, John Mikel Obi, has insisted he does not need to apologize to ex-Premier League referee, Mark Clattenburg, over a racism row that happened in 2012.
During 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 claimed he heard Clattenburg say “shut up you monkey”.
The allegations saw Clattenburg miss four weekends of Premier League fixtures, before he was cleared by the Football Association.
The police also dropped their own inquiry.
However, speaking to The Athletic, 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) did.”
