Peter Crouch Admits He Owed Mikel Obi An Apology

Former England striker, Peter Crouch, has admitted that he owes former Chelsea midfielder, John Mikel Obi, an apology for a terrible tackle he made on the former Super Eagles captain.

Crouch said his tackle on Mikel during Chelsea’s Carling Cup (Carabao Cup) tie with Liverpool over fourteen years ago, although difficult to accept at the time, felt like “three red cards” when he saw it again.

Speaking on BBC 5 Live Sports podcast, Crouch assessed the situation and said it’s a good time to say sorry to Mikel.

He said, “The worst tackle I ever did was on Obi Mikel. Liverpool against Chelsea in the Carling Cup.

“The whole game, I have been receiving balls and he’s been basically told to mark in front of me. So the centre-half is behind me, and him and, here.

“And he’s basically standing all over my toes and I am trying to chest things away and he is putting his head in my face and his elbows around me all game.

“I have been telling the ref all game, all game, all game and I’m getting nothing. We are about 70 minutes in now and it’s been going on all game.

“And it’s happened again and the ball has broken off and another one of these elbows and things he’s done to me – the ball’s broken there just posted perfectly and he’s facing the stand and obviously I have switched, lost the plot and tried to take him out basically.

“But I am not proud of this, if he’s listening to this, which I think in no way he will be John Obi Mikel, I will apologise because the red mist was that… It was like an out-of-body experience.

“After the game, I thought he would dive! Afterward I got back, and I thought I would have a look back at that tackle. I had a look and I thought, oh no! (laughs). That’s, in fact, three red cards!

“What on earth was I thinking? It’s just something that I can’t explain. He would be winding up the entire game and now I just completely lost it.”