Chelsea's Obi Mikel reveals death
threats over Nigeria row
tribalfooball.com - February 09, 2007
John Obi Mikel was forced to go against Chelsea demands he duck
this week's international for Nigeria after his family received
death threats.
The Chelsea star went against his manager's orders to play for
Nigeria on Tuesday night.
Mikel, 19, said: "Nigerian fans were threatening my family back
home. They believe I have started picking the games I play for my
country. People are still angry that I didn't play in Lesotho for
the 2008 African Championship qualifier in October.
"Only a few people know what I have been through at home in the
past due to this situation. It was just too much for me to handle
or control. It's a shame that things turned out this way but only
God knows what would have happened to my family if I had stayed
away from this game."
Chelsea wanted to withdraw Mikel from the Nigeria squad for the
game against Ghana at Griffin Park after he suffered a thigh
strain.
But he played a full 90 minutes in his country's 4-1 defeat and
Chelsea have complained to FIFA over the incident.
Mikel said: "Was Jose Mourinho angry with me for playing?
Definitely. He was totally disappointed in me but I just hope I can
explain things to him and then we'll see what happens. Hopefully he
will understand what I have been through and the severe pressure I
was put under. I had severe pain after our last game at Charlton
and I was advised not to play on Tuesday. I did explain this to the
Nigeria team officials and, when the pressure was on, I spoke with
the Chelsea team doctor who explained to me that I needed to rest
my body.
"He told me that if I needed to get on the field, it should be for
only one half of the match. But the fact that another midfielder,
Marseille's Wilson Oruma, was ruled out of the game due to a calf
injury, meant the whole thing became extremely complicated.
"There was just too much pressure from the Nigerian football
officials and, even though I tried to explain things to them, they
refused to hear me out."
Mikel, who joined Chelsea from Lyn Oslo for £16m last summer,
clashed with Mourinho in December over his poor time-keeping and
sulking.
Mikel insisted: "I think the manager believes in me. He had a
little problem with me last year but we have sorted that out and
everything is now OK.
"The presence of the other African players like Didier Drogba,
Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and Geremi has been a blessing for
me.
"They make me feel at home here in London."