Tranzonspor of Turkey midfielder, John Mikel Obi has been suspended from this week’s potentially explosive Turkish Cup game against Fernebahce, on account oif a red card in top-flight action for his Super Lig club, megasportsarena.com gathered.
Mikel, who had only two red cards earlier in the course of his career from LKyn Oslo of Norway to Chelsea of England, Tianjin Teda of China and Middlesbrough of England, had only two red cards previously on his name, but it because three when he got the marching order this past Saturday.
It means Mikel is ineligible for selection when Trabzonspor face Fenerbahce on Tuesday in the Turkish Cup semi-finals’ first leg fixture, after returning to action from automatic suspension due to accumulated yellow cards with the team he joined last summer as a free agent.
However, the 32-year-old Mikel, who has nine yellow cards in all competitions this season, with three shown to him in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League, could return to Trabzonpor’s starting line-up for their league game with Gaziantep FK next weekend.
Ironically, Mikel, who missed the prevuious weekend’s Turkish Super Lig game away to Besiktas, got sent off for the third time in his professional career in the fifth minute of the second half stoppage time of his team’s 5-2 thrashing on fellow-Nigerian, Aminu Umar’s Caykur Rizespor.
He was first cautioned in the 78th minute and got the second when he gave away a penalty in stoppage time as he was adjudged by the referee to have blocked a goal bound ball, and Mikel got the marching order, despite arguing that the shot only mistakenly hit his hand.
While Mikel was sent off, and will now miss what could be a rematch of the recent feisty clash that resulted in racist allegations against Fernebahce’s fans when both side clashed in the Lig, his Nigerian pal at Trabzonspor, Anthony Nwakaeme continued his goals scoring form, as the former Hapoel Be’er Sheva of Israel all-action attacker got off the bench to strike a goal.
Mikel started his 16th Lig game of the campaign, with Umar also in the visitors’ first 11, and he helped them take a shock 1-0 half time lead before Nwakeame went on at half time in a bid to overturn the result in favour of Trabzonspor.
Nwakaeme’s entry came just as Umar left the pitch after the hour mark through injury, thereby paving the way for Trabzonspor to find the equalizer almost immediately, as Manuel Da Costa made it 1-1, after which Caleb Ekuban took the hosts 2-1 ahead on 71 minutes and Jose Sosa put them 3-1 up from the spot before Mikel was cautioned moments later after arguing with the ref.
Nwakaeme then made it 4-1 with a curling shot from the edge of the box before Mikel saw red, after appearing to handle the ball in the box, and the visitors got hope from the penalty spot, as Milan Skoda converted for 4-2.
However, the last laugh still belonged to Nwakaeme, whose assist found Badou Ndiaye deep into injury time for 5-2, which takes Trabzonspor stretch their unbeaten run to 14 games and two points clear at the top of the Turkish Super Lig table – with 48 points from 23 games.
