Terry escapes FA ban
09 Jan 2007 - 18:03:18
Chelsea captain John Terry has escaped a ban but has been fined £10,000 and reprimanded by the FA in relation to comments made about referee Graham Poll.
Terry, who admitted a charge of improper conduct, was sent off by Poll in Chelsea's defeat by Tottenham on November 5.
After the incident the England captain claimed in an interview with Chelsea TV that Poll had given two different reasons for his dismissal.
A FA Disciplinary Commission statement read: "Whilst noting the late admission to the charge and the excellent previous disciplinary record of John Terry, we were extremely disappointed that the integrity of referee Graham Poll had been called into question, and that no public apology had been forthcoming."
In an original statement made when announcing the charge of improper conduct last month, the FA had said: "Terry claimed in an interview that Poll had given him conflicting reasons for his second yellow card, saying: 'On the pitch, Graham Poll said to me that it was for the barge on Hossam Ghaly where I just kept running'.
"'Then, after the game, he then said to me it was for the fall when me and Ledley King fell so, you know, he's obviously had a look at it, or got people to look at it and decided that's probably the best option for him and it covers every angle for him."'
Poll denied Terry's claim and was subsequently cleared of saying anything improper to any Chelsea players during the match.
