Terry call club to complain to UEFA on German
official Wolfgang Stark after their defeat by Inter Milan
John Terry has run the risk of a UEFA ban after
launching a scathing attack on the referees he blames for Chelsea's
failures in the Champions League.
Chelsea captain Terry has called for the club to complain to
UEFA after German official Wolfgang Stark turned down strong
penalty appeals during their defeat by Inter Milan on Tuesday night
- just as Norway's Tom Henning Ovrebo did when they were eliminated
by Barcelona in last season's semi-final.
But in doing so, Terry has risked punishment by
Europe's governing body for criticising the standard of refereeing
and accusing Stark of 'disrespect'.
Terry's team-mates, Didier Drogba and Jose Bosingwa, received
European bans for their reaction to Ovrebo's performance at
Stamford Bridge.
But in the aftermath of defeat by Inter, Terry said: 'It was a
bad performance from us but a really bad performance from the
referee.
'It is not good enough at this stage of the competition. We were
at home and we didn't get one decision. We do our best to get
ourselves in this position and for two years running we get let
down by bad refereeing. We need someone at the club to take it up
with UEFA.'
Last season Ovrebo refused four Chelsea penalty claims against
Barcelona and Stark did not point to the spot despite apparent
fouls on Florent Malouda and Drogba during the first half at
Stamford Bridge, where Inter's 1-0 victory gave them a 3-1
aggregate win.
Making a point: John Terry confronts an official as
he goes down the tunnel following Chelsea being knocked out of the
Champions League
Terry, who screamed at a linesman at the entrance to the
tunnel after the final whistle, said: 'I'm not going to say the
word conspiracy. But I'm so frustrated by what happened. The
penalty on Didier was blatant and how the referee and the linesman
miss those decisions frustrates me.'
Terry, the former England captain, claimed the referee failed to
return the respect the FA's campaign of that name has encouraged
players to show officials. 'When a decision didn't go our way I, as
captain, went to speak to the German referee and he turned his back
on me,' said Terry.
'We spend two years talking about respect and he does that and
refuses to talk to me. I'm pulling and pushing our players away
from him throughout the game and he turns his back.
'I wasn't shouting. I went to try to talk to him and when he
wouldn't talk that is when I got frustrated. That is just pure
disrespect.'
Face off: Chelsea's Michael Ballack screams at ref
Tom Henning Ovrebo after he turned their late appeal for handball
against Barcelona
UEFA may take a poor view of Terry's comments,
especially given Chelsea's history of criticising referees.
Sweden's Anders Frisk retired from the game after he received death
threats from Chelsea fans in the wake of criticism by then manager
Jose Mourinho in 2005.
Mourinho and Chelsea were fined for that incident, while Drogba
was banned for three Champions League games and Bosingwa for two
for their outbursts against Ovrebo last year.
But as manager Carlo Ancelotti considers shaking up his team for
today's crucial Premier League game at Blackburn, Terry has called
for referees to suffer the same consequences for bad performances
as players.
Terry said: 'Players could lose their place in the team because
of the Inter performance. But the referee last year was back in
refereeing a week after our game.
'It has to be looked at. We are disappointed that we are not
going through but I can't look any further than the referee's
performance. If I get myself in trouble, then so be it.'