Nigeria international John Mikel Obi has been suspended for three matches by the English FA, and fined £60,000 following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing on Thursday.

During the match between Chelsea and Manchester United in October, Mikel had claimed he was racially abused by the referee Mark Clattenburg.

But the FA investigated the incident and cleared Clattenburg. The FA later charged Mikel for an alleged breach of FA Rule E3 - using threatening and abusive words.

''Chelsea's John Obi Mikel has been given a three-match suspension to begin with immediate effect and fined £60,000 following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing today [Thursday 6 December 2012].

''Mikel had requested a personal hearing after admitting an FA charge of using threatening and/or abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour.

''The breach of FA Rule E3 was in relation to an incident which occurred in the match official's changing room at the end of Chelsea's fixture against Manchester United on 28 October 2012.

''The Regulatory Commission's independent chairman Christopher Quinlan QC emphasised that the Independent Regulatory Commission accepted, as did The FA, that at the time he threatened the referee the player genuinely believed that the referee had racially abused him.

''But for that factor the suspension would have been significantly longer.

''Subsequently The FA investigated the allegation that the referee racially abused the player and found that there was not a case for him to answer,'' the statement by the FA read.

Mikel will now miss games against Sunderland (December 8), Leeds United (December 19) and Aston Villa (December 23).

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