Mark Clattenburg will not referee Premier League match for fourth weekend

Mark Clattenburg: No game for another weekend as the inquiry goes on

Referee Mark Clattenburg will not referee a Premier League match for the fourth consecutive weekend.

An inquiry into an incident during Chelsea's 3-2 defeat to Manchester United on 28 October is still ongoing, and the 37-year-old Clattenburg has not been selected to officiate since the clash at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues alleged that Clattenburg used inappropriate language, believed to have been interpreted as racist, towards Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel during the game - allegations strongly denied by the County Durham official.

The FA has interviewed several Chelsea players including Mikel, as well as Clattenburg, the two assistant referees Michael McDonough and Simon Long and fourth official Michael Jones.

An independent QC is studying all the evidence in close detail before recommending a decision, which is expected later this week.

Last week, the FA was accused of being "institutionally racist" by the chairman of the Society of Black Lawyers for not referring the incident to the police, with FA chairman David Bernstein responding by dubbing Peter Herbert's comments "ill-informed and unhelpful".

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck's defence of the club's actions has caused concern with the PGMO referees organisation, who believe the London side should not have gone public over the issue.