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Nigeria boss blasts Antonio Conte for punishing Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel

Football

By Mirror | Nov 17, 2016

Antonio Conte has been accused of freezing John Obi Mikel out at Chelsea as “punishment” for going to the summer Olympics with Nigeria.

The claim has come from Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr who has hit out at the midfielder’s treatment.

Mikel, who clinched a bronze medal in Rio, has yet to play a single game for Conte since his arrival at Stamford Bridge.

It also emerged in the past week that Chelsea will not be renewing the Nigeria captain’s contract when it expires at the end of the season.

Mikel left Conte’ pre-season camp to link up with his country but has found himself out in the cold ever since.

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Rohr said: "There is a reason why Mikel is not playing for Chelsea right now and that reason is because he played for Nigeria at the Olympics. He was punished for that.

"I cannot punish a player who loves his country and shows that he loves the Green jersey. I am not happy with what is happening to Mikel at his club because he is my captain.

"I spoke about this with Mikel and the club’s technical director [Michael Emenalo]. Mikel is training very well and he plays games in training with the big players at Chelsea.”

Conte has claimed Mikel has not been selected for Chelsea games because he has been struggling with injuries.

But the 29-year-old has played in his country’s last two World Cup qualifiers against Tanzania and Zambia. He is also in line to play against Algeria on Saturday.

Rohr added: "He [Mikel] is here with us and he is fit and I hope he can play for 90 minutes against Algeria but if it is not possible, we shall see. He is a big player so if he tells me on Saturday he can play for 90
minutes, great but if he says he cannot, then I will also listen to him.

"I have big confidence in him and if he says ‘it is okay’, then it is okay but when he says ‘it is not okay’ then it is not and I will listen to him.”

Mikel has admitted he is now considering his options for when the transfer window reopens. He said: “We will wait and see what happens in January.

"For the first time in my career, this is happening to me and I have to stand up and deal with it. It is what it is but I'm training hard every day and always wish the team the best and I am happy we are doing well.

"Managers come and go. Players come and go.

"I've been at Chelsea a long time and these things happen in football. So we will have to make that decision when January comes."