Mikel insists he would have 'no problem' with Clattenburg refereeing Chelsea again

Dec 14, 2012 8:20:00 AM

The 25-year-old, who received a three-match ban for being threatening and/or abusive towards the referee, is "glad" that the row is over and hopes that all involved can "move on"

John Obi Mikel has indicated that he has moved on from the dispute with Mark Clattenburg, in which Chelsea football club accused the referee of racially abusing their midfielder.

The 37-year-old was cleared by the Football Association, after they concluded that the evidence was not strong enough, with Blues' team-mate Ramires the only person to hear the alleged words.

The Nigerian, however, was charged with using threatening and/or abusive words and/or behaviour aimed at the official after the defeat to Manchester United on October 28, and still has two games of the ban to serve.

The 25-year-old assured that there would be no issue if the Premier League referee took charge of the west London side again this season, adding he is hopeful everyone can move on.

"Everything is put to bed, we move on," Mikel told reporters. "If he refereed a game there would certainly be no problem.

“I am glad it is over. I am sure he is glad it is over as well, and the FA is glad it is all put to bed and we can move on from here.”

Of racism in football as a whole, the central midfielder, who recently signed a new five-year deal at Stamford Bridge, said the governing body must work with the players to beat the problem.

“It has been there for years,” he added.

“Hopefully everyone will work together – the players and the FA – to make sure we try to stop things like that.”

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German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at Wembley for European glory. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Mark Doyle.

4:59 PM BST

The injury-enforced absence of Dortmund’s Bayern-bound playmaker, Gotze, is of course the principal talking point in terms of team news. The 20-year-old’s unavailability is clearly a hammer blow for die Schwarzgelben, but, as team-mate Kevin Grosskreutz pointed out this week, Dortmund destroyed Bayern in last year’s DFB Pokal final without Gotze.

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But what do the fans think? Well, yesterday Goal’s roving reporter Kris Voakes went along to the Uefa Champions Festival, which is being staged at the Olympic Park in Stretford, and he spoke with supporters from both sides.

Johannes, Munich, told Goal: "We haven't lost to Dortmund this season, and though we lost two finals [in 2010 and 2012], we are hoping the third time is a charm.

"Last year the English stole our trophy," interrupted his friend Benjamin, "but we are going to take in back to Munich where it belongs."

But Dortmund fan Nicolas says the loss of Mario Gotze to injury is not too much of a concern for Jurgen Klopp's side: “We have Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski, and yes, we will be fine without Gotze. We will win 2-0.”

4:44 PM BST

However, Dortmund simply cannot be discounted. They relish the role of underdogs and are not in the least bit afraid of their illustrious rivals, having now gone six Bundesliga games without defeat against die Roten. The last time these two met in a final, in last season’s DFB Pokal, Dortmund ran out 5-2 winners. As coach Jurgen Klopp pointed out this week: “We’re not the best team in the world, but we can beat the best team in the world."

4:43 PM BST

Bayern, of course, start as overwhelming favourites to prevail this evening, and understandably so. Not only did they mercilessly batter Barcelona into a shockingly tame capitulation at Camp Nou, they are also coming off the back of a record-breaking Bundesliga campaign which they finished a staggering 25 points clear of runners-up Dortmund, whom they are unbeaten against in four meetings this season.

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So, what do you think? Who will prevail this evening? Are Bayern going to banish the memory of last year’s devastating and inexplicable loss to Chelsea at the Allianz Arena? Or are Dortmund going to defy the odds once again and go from the brink of bankruptcy to Champions League winners in just eight years? Get in touch via Facebook and Twitter and I’ll be sure to post the best comments in here.

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