Chelsea captain John Terry has denied a Football Association
charge of improper conduct relating to comments he made about
referee Graham Poll.
Terry claimed Poll had given him conflicting reasons for his second
yellow card in the Blues' surprise 2-1 defeat by Tottenham on
November 5.
The FA claimed the England skipper's comments questioned the
integrity of the match official - who was later cleared of saying
anything inappropriate to the Chelsea players during the
match.
"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," Terry told Chelsea TV in the
aftermath of the match.
The original FA statement relating to the incident said: "This
claim is denied by Graham Poll. The charge has been brought on the
basis that John Terry's comments question Graham Poll's integrity
and therefore constitute improper conduct."
Terry has requested a personal hearing to fight the charge of
improper conduct.