Chelsea legend Mikel John Obi has strongly condemned Nicolas Jackson’s latest red card offense as a “stupid, stupid mistake” on an episode of the Obi One Podcast. The latest incident saw Jackson get red-carded when Chelsea lost 2-0 to Newcastle for which he was dismissed for elbowing Sven Botman.
He was initially given a yellow card, which was upgraded to a red one after review by VAR. The ban has ruled Jackson out for Chelsea’s final two Premier League games against Manchester United and Nottingham Forest. The Blues beat the Red Devils 1-0 and will have to find a win against Forest this weekend. Meanwhile, Jackson will return for next week’s Europa Conference League final against Real Betis.
Mikel John Obi spoke about how Jackson’s move was a deliberate one, as he asserted:
“He looked at the man, he looked at the ball, he knew exactly what he was doing. Bang.”
Mikel drew examples from his own past, speaking of instances when players like Didier Drogba and John Terry had been sent off in crucial matches:
“I’ve been in big games where Didier Drogba was sent off in the Champions League final in 2008 – that was emotion, that was adrenaline. I’ve been in a final where John Terry was sent off, semi-final, big game, Nou Camp – got sent off. That was emotion. So these things happen. But you have to learn from it.”
Mikel finished:
“He has to move on, we have to move on from it. He has to learn from it to make sure this doesn’t happen at a crucial time in the season, where his teammates need him, the club needs him, the fans need him—and he’s sort of let everybody down.”
Mikel John Obi Has Criticized Nicolas Jackson in the Past
This is not the first time that Mikel has criticized Jackson. At the start of the season, when Chelsea had lost to Manchester City, Mikel had criticized Jackson’s finishing. The former midfielder felt that the Blues needed a more experienced striker who would introduce an element of balance.
Jackson responded to Mikel on social media by asking him to “shut your mouth” after scoring a goal in a later game. Despite these high-profile disagreements, Mikel contends his jibes are aimed at making Jackson a better player.
Meanwhile, Blues’ boss Enzo Maresca also said Jackson needs to learn from the mistake. Maresca once again asserted that having bodies on the field, particularly at crucial points in the season, is crucial. He went on to say that Jackson’s absence makes it hard for the Blues to have options in attack.