Turning the air blue: John Terry confronts referee Tom
Henning Ovrebo
Should John Terry seriously believe it is acceptable for
a player like Didier Drogba to confront a referee in an abusive and
uncontrollable manner, then he might like to consider popping his
England captain’s armband in the post, addressed to the Football
Association HQ, Soho Square, London.
Whatever the provocation, whatever the perceived sense of
injustice any player might feel, no professional can ever be
allowed to perform the kind of grotesque, lunatic dance we
witnessed from Drogba at the end of Chelsea’s
Champions League semi-final defeat.
But, while the football fraternity have queued up to mutter
banal expressions of ‘understanding’ for his behaviour, excusing it
as an ‘emotional reaction’ and other such handy cliches, Terry did
more than express empathy for the deranged histrionics of his
team-mate.
The defender — England’s skipper remember — went as far as to
condone the wild strop and argue that Drogba was within his rights
to race on to the pitch, launch into a finger-jabbing rant and hurl
expletives directly into a television camera.
‘I’m fully behind Didier, the way he reacted,’ said Terry. ‘The
man wants to win. You can see the passion he played with in the
game and afterwards. But the fact is the referee is the one who
should face the consequences, not Didier, and not us by not going
through.’
What an irresponsible remark. What a foolish endorsement for
idiocy. No sooner had the words left Terry’s lips than the referee
was indeed confronted with the full consequences, just as the
player had demanded.
Tom Henning Ovrebo had to be hustled away from the ground under
guard, moved from his London hotel to another location and then
smuggled back home to Oslo, where he is currently in hiding after
receiving death threats.
If Terry wants to act as an advocate for a team-mate hellbent on
confronting officials, if he wants to trot out spurious excuses
sticking up for a colleague, then it is an issue for Chelsea.
But being captain of your country carries a greater
responsibility. It is not a meaningless accolade you accept for a
few days every month and then forget as soon as the coin toss is
over. It’s a full-time job and the FA have to ask themselves if
these are the sentiments they really want to hear from their chosen
ambassador.
Terry added: ‘People are saying we shouldn’t have reacted the
way we did, but the fact is six decisions went against us in front
of 40,000 people.’
Actually, it happened in front of millions. Millions who could
see horrible officiating errors had been committed on probably two
out of four penalty calls, yet felt their sympathy drain away
watching the ferocity of Chelsea’s reaction.
Amid all this stood the captain, shouting, pushing and
gesticulating as raucously as his most undisciplined team-mates and
doing nothing to restore a measure of calm in the melee.
Lap of dishonour: Terry (right) and a gaggle of Chelsea
players chase Ovrebo
Those millions will have included children who could see
for themselves just how much ‘respect’ (remember that battered FA
campaign?) England’s captain really has for match officials.
Children who will no doubt be re-enacting similarly depressing
scenes on playing fields right across the country as we
speak.
In the aftermath, Chelsea set about some belated damage
limitation, briefing the press that owner Roman Abramovich
disapproved of what he had seen, while the offenders queued up to
issue their apologies, most specifically Drogba. It all made
Terry’s very vocal endorsements look even more ill judged,
particularly as we are told he made a point of shaking the
Barcelona players’ hands in the dressing room. If only the private
gesture of sportsmanship had been a public one.
We know Terry is a forceful centre half and a motivating
influence. Some sports writers whose judgment I trust like the
chap, and I realise that no England captain has ever been a saint,
not even Gary Lineker.
But the truth is that when events don’t go his way, a petulant,
juvenile streak boils to the surface and he can set a dismal
example for the next generation.
The player has an ignoble history of confronting
referees in damaging flare-ups, even trying to rip a red card out
of Mike Dean’s hand on one infamous occasion, and he appears unable
to conquer his worst excesses.
What a contrast to Manchester
United’s Darren Fletcher as he swallowed the injustice
of being denied a place in the Champions League final after a cruel
red card at the Emirates. He left the pitch without so much as a
curse, showing precisely how to deal with adversity.
Taking it like a man: Fletcher (left) reacts to his sending
off.
Obviously the serial drama queen Drogba has no such
reserves of grace. He will be handed a considerable ban by UEFA and
will depart, unmourned and unloved, to Milan or somewhere else
where he can fling himself to the ground and then squeal about
fairness. He will not be missed.
But the conduct of the England captain is more troublesome.
Terry was far from the worst offender on the night, but he has to
do more. When Fabio Capello arrived in this country and staged a
mini-round of auditions for his new skipper, influential-voices
within the FA counselled-against his choice of Terry as captain
because of his history of conflict.
I wonder what he thought as he looked on? I hope Capello agreed
with the words of Drogba that it was all ‘a f****** disgrace’.
That pic i see like he saying "FUCK"
