Former Liverpool forward Peter Crouch has apologised to John Mikel Obi over an altercation between the two back in 2007.
The former England international confessed that his ridiculous tackle on the Ex-Super Eagles star almost 13 years ago was the worst that he ever made in his career.
The two players came together when an Avram Grant-led Chelsea side clashed with Liverpool for a place in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup.
A deflected Frank Lampard strike and a near-perfect Andriy Shevchenko angled drive secured the win for the Blues. But one of the highlights of the encounter was when Crouch saw red for a reckless tackle on John Mikel Obi, with scores still at 1-0.
With half an hour left to play, a frustrated Crouch lunged two-footed at the Chelsea midfielder, and referee Martin Atkinson had little hesitation in brandishing his red card.
Strangely, the former England international accused Mikel of diving and provoking the tackle.
“What I’m thinking is if you go in on Frank Lampard or John Terry, would they roll around like Obi Mikel did? I don’t think they would have done,” a remorseless Crouch said at the time.
“I didn’t catch Mikel, but he went down like he’d been shot.”
However, with more than a decade gone since the incident, the gangling striker has had a rethink, admitting that he did not only tackle Mikel out of frustration, but he should have been sent off three times.
“The worst tackle I ever did was on John Obi Mikel. I think it was in the Carling Cup, as it was called then,” the former Reds man said in the BBC-monitored That Peter Crouch Podcast.
“The whole of the game, I’d been receiving balls high and he (Mikel Obi) had been basically told to mark in front of me. He’s been standing all over my toes constantly, all game.
“I try to chest it away, but he’s putting his hands on my face, even his elbows. I’ve been telling the referee (about it) all game, and I’m getting nothing.
“Then it happened again, and as the ball dropped off, another one of his elbows again… The ball dropped perfectly, and he was facing the stands. Obviously, I lost the plot and I tried to take him out.
“I’m not proud of it. If he’s listening to this, John Obi Mikel, I’d like to apologise,” he pleaded.
