Wednesday, 28 November 2012

Chelsea 'regret' treatment of referee Mark Clattenburg after complaint of ... - Telegraph.co.uk

"There was a constructive and open discussion. The club regrets not having given more consideration before issuing a statement on the evening of Sunday 28th October.

"The club also regrets the subsequent impact the intense media scrutiny had on Mark Clattenburg and his family.

"The referees accept that, given Chelsea FC had received a good faith claim from one of their employees, the club had an obligation under FA rules to report the allegation.

"There was recognition by all parties that the impartiality and integrity of refereeing in this country remains paramount. Chelsea FC made it clear they would welcome Mark Clattenburg back to Stamford Bridge in the future and PGMOL would have no issue in appointing him to a Chelsea FC match going forward.

"It was a thoroughly professional meeting. All parties now believe it is time to draw a line under this incident, learn from it and move on for the good of all Premier League clubs, players and match officials."

Chelsea stopped short of offering a full-blown apology to Clattenburg, who said in a statement last week: "To know you were innocent of something but that there was the opportunity for it to wreck your career was truly frightening."

The 37 year-old returns to front-line refereeing tomorrow for the first time since October's explosive Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester United.

The Blues made their allegation against Clattenburg public within hours of the final whistle, something that particularly angered the referee and his fellow officials.

Clattenburg's statement added: "I know first hand the ramifications of allegations of this nature being placed into the public domain ahead of a formal process and investigation. I hope no referee has to go through this in the future."

It is understood a handshake took place between Buck and Clattenburg during yesterday's meeting.

It is also understood one of the reasons today's joint statement did not contain the word "sorry" was because the player who made the claim stands by his allegation.

Ramires told Mikel he heard Clattenburg say, "Shut up you monkey", to his fellow midfielder, something the FA found no corroborating evidence for.

However, they did conclude Ramires made the allegation "in good faith", that Chelsea were correct to report the matter and that it "was appropriate and proper for such an allegation to be thoroughly investigated".

The Blues saying they were wrong to make the complaint could also open them up to legal action by Clattenburg or referees' union Prospect, something which the official is understood not to want to pursue.

Clattenburg was stood down while the FA probe took place and returned to work as a fourth official in Saturday's game between Tottenham and West Ham.

He is scheduled to be the man in the middle for the first time in exactly a month during Southampton's match with Norwich tomorrow.

Metropolitan police dropped their investigation into the matter earlier this month when no victim came forward following a complaint from the Society of Black Lawyers.

Upon clearing Clattenburg, the FA charged Mikel with misconduct for his post-match behaviour which saw him confront the referee in the officials' room after the United match.

Mikel did not contest the charge but requested a personal hearing in which Chelsea hoped mitigating circumstances would be taken into consideration.

No comments:

Post a Comment