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Complete Sports have confirmed that referee Mark Clattenburg racially abused Super Eagles midfielder,John Mikel Obi and this tops the bill of the official complaint filed by Chelsea which is being investigated by the English Football Association .The referee also xenophobically insulted Juan Mata. Clattenburg,Complete Sports can reveal called Mikel a ‘Black M…’.and the Nigerian did not take kindly to this as he stormed the referee’s changing room after the game demanding for an apology.

‘The referee told Mikel to shut up after he (Mikel) went to complain to him about his handling of the match. He told Mikel,’Shut Up, you black M….”, revealed a source close to Mikel.

The source further revealed that Mikel would have physically confronted the referee if he had heard him use such a racist language on him.It was two of Chelsea’s players who heard the inapporopriate language from Clattenburg that drew Mikel’s attention to it”, further revealed the source.

Meanwhile the FA announced on Monday that it would be conducting an official investigation. It does not deny that the investigation,which will include gathering video evidence and talking to all four officials at the game, centres around two major incidents.

Chelsea’s complaint is that Mikel was the victim of a racist comment, while Spain midfielder Mata was allegedly called a “Spanish t**t” by Clattenburg.

Both incidents occurred on the field of play during the Sunday afternoon Stamford Bridge clash with Manchester United and not, as had been reported, in the tunnel.

Chelsea spoke to both players about the incidents at length before lodging their complaint with the FA, which is now certain to contact Skyand seek footage from the broadcaster’s 20 cameras at Stamford Bridge.

In an earlier statement confirming its investigation into Chelsea’s allegations of “inappropriate language” being used by Clattenburg, the FA said: “The FA has begun an investigation relating to allegations made following Sunday’s fixture at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Manchester United (Sunday 28 October 2012).

“The FA will make no further comment at this time.”

The Professional Game Match Officials organisation later confirmed that Clattenburg will not officiate a match this weekend stating, “that with any football match the focus should not be on the officials but on the players and the game itself.

“Mark Clattenburg is one of the elite referees in world football and, in these circumstances, the intense level of scrutiny would detract from the match and be unfair to the clubs and the supporters of both sides.”

The head of the Professional Footballers’ Association, Gordon Taylor, meanwhile, has urged the FA to deal with the accusations as quickly and fairly as possible.

Taylor is wary of the fact that the most recent row concerning racism in football – that involving Blues captain John Terry - dragged on for almost a year before he was banned by the FA, and he does not want this case to go on for such a long period of time.

“We’ve got to learn the lessons of the last 12 months,” Taylor said. “This is extremely serious for the referee involved so that’s why it’s important that it is dealt with in the most thorough manner and as quickly, efficiently, and transparently as possible.”

Super Eagles and Chelsea Football Club midfielder, John Mikel Obi has debunked rumours that the club players are behind the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas, the latest coach to be shown the red card at a club renowned for sacking coaches for woeful performances.

 Andre Villas-Boas was sacked following the abysmal performance of the team with just three wins in twelve matches. In a chat with MTNFootball.com, the 24 years old former Lyn Oslo player rued his lack of regular playing time under Villas-Boas but was quick to confess that it was not enough reason for him to support the removal of his former coach. “No. I don’t know anything about players sacking AVB! He is a world-class coach. Yes, I was not playing regularly under him and it was frustrating for me because I always want to play when I am not injured, but that does not mean I hate him. “He is a nice guy and a good coach, things just didn’t work for him at Chelsea as everyone thought it would be, but all I can say is that we did not sack Andre Villas-Boas. I am wishing him all the best in the future,” he said.

 On his choice of a coach to replace the Portugal-born coach, Mikel said he is not in the position to determine who is brought as Chelsea manager as his role is on the field of play.“ I am not in a position to say who should be Chelsea manager. As a player, I will work with whoever is in charge. We are doing well under the current manager and my job is to concentrate and do well on the field for him, myself and the team,” Mikel explained.

With the exit of Andre Villas-Boas, Chelsea has now had seven different coaches since Jose Mourinho “the special one” left the club in 2007.On whether Chelsea can end the English Premier League (EPL) among the top four clubs despite stiff opposition from the likes of Arsenal, and Newcastle, the Nigerian midfielder  said the Stamford Bridge occupants will do better than expected. “We can even finish third ahead of those two and Tottenham Hotspur. It won’t be easy; we have to work hard for it. With the form that we are in now, I am sure we won’t finish below fourth place on the table,” he said.

 Mikel declined comments on his purported move to several European clubs at the last transfer window, but admits that his major priority now is to concentrate on contributing to club’s fortune in the ongoing season.“I don’t want to talk about anything as it concerns transfer again. The window is closed and I am still playing for Chelsea. I am concentrating on playing and winning with my club. It is always frustrating when one is not getting playing time when you know you should,” he declared.

 Chelsea currently occupies the fifth position on the Premier League table with ten matches to go and three points behind fourth placed Arsenal FC. The club is still in contention for the UEFA Champions League as they travel down to Benfica on Tuesday, 27th March in a quarterfinal duel with the Portuguese club. The club is also in contention for the English FA Cup as they beat Leicester City 5 – 2 to book a place in the Semi-final of the competition.

The kidnappers of Mr. Michael Obi, father of Chelsea star Mikel Obi, have made contact with the family. Mr Obi, a retired civil servant, who runs a transport company in the city of Jos was abducted on Friday evening, and has not been seen since.

On Tuesday the police made a general appeal to the public for information that could help solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance. But later on Tuesday it was alleged that the family had received two calls from the kidnappers, who first warned them that Obi senior had been taken out of Jos.

“They called mummy (Mikel’s mother) and told her that we should not bother looking for Daddy in Jos because he had been taken to Lagos,” a family source informed KickOffNigeria.com.

A few hours later a second call came in, giving the family the location of the car which Mr Obi was driving when he went missing. Tony, the eldest of the Obi children, allegedly confirmed to KickOffNigeria.com that the car was found in Jos, but declined to say where.

But despite the report, Mikel’s mother denied that the family had received any call from anybody claiming to be the abductor. She, however, confirmed to THE PUNCH correspondent that her husband’s car had been seen but that the discovery was based on a tip-off from an informant. …The Punch