The match between Chelsea and Manchester United on Sunday, where the latter won at Stamford Bridge after 10 years, could mark the end of referee Mark Clattenburg's career if he is found guilty of uttering racial comment against a player as alleged by Chelsea.
Chelsea played more than half-an-hour with nine men after referee Mark Clattenburg sent off two of their key players, resulting in a 2-3 defeat to Manchester United. Javier Hernandez winning goal too was an offside.
Adding more fuel to the fire, Chelsea has lodged complaint against referee Mark Clattenburg for using inappropriate comments against two of their players during their Premier League match against Manchester United on Sunday. One of the comments, believed to be shot at John Obi Mikel, is allegedly racial in nature.
"We have lodged a complaint to the Premier League match delegate with regards to inappropriate language used by the referee and directed at two of our players in two separate incidents in today's match," a statement from Chelsea said. "The match delegate will pass the complaint to the Football Association. We will make no further comment at this time."
The allegation on the referee came at a time when English football is being hit by racial abuses, with Luis Suarez and John Terry being banned for several matches by the Football Association (FA) after they were found guilty of racially abusing other players.
Former Premier League official Jeff Winter is of the opinion that referee Mark Clattenburg's career could end if he is found guilty of uttering racial comments at Chelsea player on Sunday.
"If a match official has used racial insults or language to a player then he's for the high jump.
"He won't be getting a four-match or an eight-match ban, it'll probably be the end of his career, but that is if indeed he did say anything," The Sun quoted Winter as saying.
"I feel it very unlikely that Mark Clattenburg would be allowed to referee until it's dealt with. We certainly don't want this going on for weeks and months."
Manchester United's 3-2 win over Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge on Sunday was marred by controversial decisions of the match officials, including the decisive goal that appeared to be an offside.
Chelsea played with nine men almost the entire second half after Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres were shown red cards by referee Mark Clattenburg just a few minutes after the break. As if that's not enough, they allowed the winning goal by Javier Hernandez in the 75th minute though he seemed to be in offside position.
Chelsea is till on top of the table with 22 points in spite of the defeat on Sunday but Manchester United has added three more points with the win. They are now second in the table with 21 points.
