They say people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, presumably because of the dangers of falling glass. I suppose from the manner in which Chelsea made their complaint after the Manchester United match that Chelsea are quite confident of there being no panes left with which to injure themselves.
After watching the sanguine manner in which Mikel (on a constant loop for around a year) ignored the vitriol sputtering from John Terry's lips (as Terry indulged in his own 'difficult to detect' form of sarcasm) the last thing in the world I would of expected would be for him to come out with such a vehemently strong stance against racism, considering the past 12 months have elapsed without even an aroma of disdain on his part. To be fair with Terry playing on his team perhaps he thought he was safe from such bigotry, being ensconced in the moral vacuum that is Stamford Bridge.
Whether Mikel was even racially abused is going to be hard to ascertain in itself, being that he never heard said abuse and the information was relayed to him by two native Brazilian Portuguese speakers, neither to my knowledge fluent English speakers. Much in the manner of the schoolyard, I imagine they rushed to Mikel saying 'did you hear what he called you?' 'Don't have it!' It's hard to imagine them dissapointedly relaying the information to Mikel in sage and sombre tones. In this current climate, with racism coming back into the cultural lexicon like 80's aesthetics, it's hard to imagine someone being so stupid as to commit another racially motivated offense, especially a referee. There is an argument that can be made for ethnic minorities feeling bolstered by the coverage being afforded to these issues at current that gives them the confidence to follow up on abuse that would otherwise be endured and ignored.
Whether that alleged act was as unsavoury as the Chelsea crowd seeming to crush their own steward, throwing coins, detritus and seats at the Manchester United players, Torres perforating Cleverley's chest with his boot, repeated fouling from Ramires and Mikel is a matter for people that don't support either team to decide. This seems to be a very elaborate and ludicrously unreasonable misdirection. The amount of behaviour on and off the pitch that was below the standard we should expect from the Premier League brand (best league in the world (registered trademark)) was lacking from the Stamford Bridge residents. The only play of any worth in that game generally came from their midfield triumvirate (who are possibly without equal in the premiership as a midfield unit) but the attack and defense were tepid to say the least.
Chelsea on the end of a year where, I for one, was elated to see the established tika-taka hegemony being broken (and usurped by nothing more than determination, organization and grit) have once again shown a lack of class and honesty dealing with the issues. Hearsay and insidious rumours all built on a weak imitation of integrity built by higher up PR (why was Bruce Buck apologizing) men. Once again they have demeaned the seriousness of the whole race issue. Mikel (if he had a brain) would think what is the likelihood in this current climate that a referee would racially abuse him? Why stay at a club like Chelsea if that was such an affront to him. Mutually idiocy is obviously vogue in south west London, Chelsea should've sold him years ago.
Chelsea should apologize and as swiftly as possible. The mud being thrown at Clattenburg will stain. He had a shocker, for both teams. Chelsea should of had 8 men and Manchester United should of had one less goal. Whether he holds responsibility for it all is one thing. To try and slander him shows the typical class one lamentably expects from Chelsea. The Serbian FA have gained another precedent in the war they intend to wage against the effectiveness of the FA's jurisdiction. While Chelsea have projected their deep seated administration and ethical problems onto a fall guy who had the misfortune not to make the mistakes in their favour at this time.
