Refs want stiffer punishment for Mikel

The referees trade union, Prospect, has revealed its dismay at the "leniency" of a three-game ban handed to John Mikel Obi after he confronted Mark Clattenburg following Chelsea's stormy Barclays Premier League clash with Manchester United in October.

A Football Association independent regulatory commission handed down Mikel's ban on Thursday, which included a £60,000 fine, after the Chelsea midfielder admitted the charge.

In a statement the FA revealed the sanction would have been "significantly longer" but for the fact Mikel had believed he had been racially abused by Clattenburg.

A strongly-worded statement from Prospect on Thursday night, however, criticised the length of Mikel's ban, which rules him out of domestic duty until Boxing Day.

“Prospect, the referees trade union, today (Thursday) expressed dismay at the lenient punishment handed down by the FA Regulatory Commission to Chelsea player John Obi Mikel,” the statement read.

“It is vital that officials were given real respect and this decision regrettably gave entirely the wrong message. A player in parks football found guilty of behaviour like Mikel's would have faced a long-term ban,”

National secretary Alan Leighton claimed Mikel's behaviour deserved a heavier sanction despite the mitigating circumstances.

“For entering the referees' dressing room and threatening and intimidating the referee to the extent that he feared for his safety the penalty was no longer than had the player being sent off for serious foul play.

“This did absolutely nothing to further the Respect campaign,” Leighton said.

Leighton added that "far too much weight had been given to the mitigating factor and that Mikel's behaviour merited a strong deterrent penalty."

Following Thursday's hearing, which Mikel had requested, the FA's regulatory committee revealed those factors had played a key part in the length of the ban.

Mikel, who signed a new five-year deal with Chelsea on Wednesday, will therefore miss this weekend's trip to Sunderland but will be available when Chelsea jet out for the Club World Cup in Japan next week.

His availability when the Blues return from the Far East could be limited though, with the midfielder due to meet up with Nigeria early in the new year for the African Nations Cup.

That tournament begins on January 19, with the players set to convene in the weeks beforehand, and Mikel would be unavailable until February 10 should Nigeria reach the final.

source: Supersport