Nicolas Jackson’s position at Chelsea is under threat from Liam Delap, and his response to losing his place to the £30m new boy on his birthday was a shocker
Nicolas Jackson has issued a public apology after his red card in the FIFA Club World Cup. Chelsea hothead Jackson got his marching orders on his 24th BIRTHDAY just FOUR MINUTES after coming on as a substitute for a shocking X-rated challenge.
Jackson entered the field with the score 1-1 in Chelsea’s second game of the tournament, against Brazilian side Flamengo. By the time he left the field they were 2-1 down, before going on to lose 3-1 to the side coached by ex-Blues left-back Filipe Luis.
After the match, Jackson wrote on instagram: “I want to say sorry. To the club, the staff, my teammates, and all the fans watching, I let you down. Another red card… and honestly, I’m so angry at myself.
“I work hard every day to help the team not to put us in this kind of situation. I still don’t fully understand how it happened. But one thing is clear: it wasn’t intentional. Just a football moment that went the wrong way. “No excuses. I take full responsibility.
READ MORE: DAZN forced to apologise after Chelsea icon’s angry rant at ‘stupid’ Nicolas JacksonREAD MORE: Chelsea star issues apology to team-mates after FIFA Club World Cup defeat to Flamengo
“I’ll reflect, I’ll grow, and I’ll come back stronger for the badge and for everyone who believes in me. Sorry. Sorry.”
It compounded six minutes of second half madness for Chelsea as Flamengo turned the game on its head and went from 1-0 down to 2-1 up before Jackson got sent off.
There was no excuse for his appalling studs-up challenge on Flamengo’s Ayrton Lucas which in this competition gets an automatic one game ban which FIFA can review and upgrade.
Frankly, they should throw the book at him and it is no wonder that Maresca signed Liam Delap because he cannot trust Jackson.
Jackson has so much talent but his reckless temperament makes him a liability and suddenly, from winning their first game, the mood will change in the Chelsea camp.
Defender Marc Cucurella revealed he apologised to the players in the dressing room post-game. The Spaniard said: “He’s very sad. He tried to win the ball, had the bad luck that he kicked his leg and that’s it. He’s a young player with a lot of quality but maybe needs to improve a little bit in these things.
“But he has to learn. After the manager spoke, he said sorry, he didn’t do it on purpose. He’s a very important player for us, we will miss him in the next game but this is football.”
Jon Obi Mikel, working for DAZN, was scathing in his assessment. He said: “Unbelievable, a stupid, stupid, stupid mistake. I don’t know what was going through his head. Your team needs you and he does that!”
“He did that at Newcastle in an important game. He got a red card. And now he’s done this again. You can’t keep making mistakes like this.”
Watch the Club World Cup free on DAZN
The FIFA Club World Cup will see 32 of the world’s best club teams including Man City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich play across 63 games from June 14-July 13.
Fans can watch every match live and for free by signing up to DAZN.
Asked whether Jackson could have been frustrated at losing his place to Delap, Mikel responded: “I don’t care what his frustration is (Delap starting). This is a massive football club and it’s about competition.
“If you’re angry or p****d off, then you have to embrace it. We need competition.”
DAZN presenter Kelly Somers apologised for the choice of language from Mikel. But going back to the incident later on, Mikel added: “Jackson needs to have a word with himself, where do you want to go with your Chelsea career?”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.