Mikel Obi has been hit with a three-match ban and
fined £60,000 for his part in the Mark Clattenburg race row debacle.
The Chelsea midfielder ran into the referee’s
dressing room at the end of Chelsea’s defeat against Manchester United in
October and confronted him over an alleged racial slur.
Mikel had already admitted a charge that he
confronted referee Mark Clattenburg in the official’s changing room after the
game before Thursday’s personal hearing.
The suspension will take effect immediately and
rule Mikel out of domestic duty until Boxing Day.
“Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel has been given a
three-match suspension to begin with immediate effect and fined £60,000
following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing today (Thursday 6 December
2012),” an FA statement read.
“Mikel had requested a personal hearing after
admitting an FA charge of using threatening and/or abusive and/or insulting
words and/or behaviour.
“The breach of FA Rule E3 was in relation to an
incident which occurred in the match official’s changing room at the end of
Chelsea’s fixture against Manchester United on 28 October 2012.
A police investigation into the incident
collapsed because of a lack of evidence and subsequently an FA probe met the
same fate.
The regulatory commission’s independent chairman,
Christopher Quinlan QC, said the findings showed at the time of the incident
Mikel genuinely believed the referee had racially abused him.
“But for that factor the suspension would have
been significantly longer,” the FA said in a statement.
New Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez might have been
preparing for the bad news by selecting Oriol Romeu ahead of Mikel on Tuesday
night.
The Spaniard has started twice under his
stewardship and is regaining match fitness after a long period of inactivity.
David Luiz was also played in defensive midfield
in the latter parts of the Champions League match against Danish opponents
Nordsjaelland.
Mikel signed a new five-year contract at the club
on Tuesday. The 25-year-old midfielder committed his future to the European
champions until 2017 — which will see him complete a total of 11 years at
Stamford Bridge.
Mikel, who joined Chelsea in the summer of 2006
after controversially pulling out of a move to Manchester United, said,
“Chelsea seems like my home now because I have been here for over six years and
I enjoy my time here.”
Punch
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