Author: Crazy

Chelsea Football Club believes John Terry has made the correct decision by not appealing against the FA judgment relating to language he used at the QPR match last October.

Chelsea also appreciates, and supports, John’s full apology for the language he used. The club firmly believes such language is not acceptable and fell below the standards expected of John as a Chelsea player.

The Board has conducted its own investigation into the matter, and considered the various issues involved. The Board has taken further disciplinary action in addition to the four-match suspension and £220,000 fine imposed by the FA. In accordance with our long-standing policy, that disciplinary action will remain confidential.

Chelsea enjoys support all over the world. We have players and supporters from many different countries and cultures and our club is committed to eradicating all forms of discriminatory behaviour. John is fully committed to continue supporting that ongoing work.

The FA suspension means John will be not be available to play in our games against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United in the Premier League and League Cup, and Swansea.

John Terry’s statement, released today, reads:

‘After careful consideration, I have decided not to appeal against the FA judgment.

‘I want to take this opportunity to apologise to everyone for the language I used in the game against Queens Park Rangers last October.

‘Although I’m disappointed with the FA judgement, I accept that the language I used, regardless of the context, is not acceptable on the football field or indeed in any walk of life.

‘As I stated in the criminal case, with the benefit of hindsight my language was clearly not an appropriate reaction to the situation for someone in my position.

‘My response was below the level expected by Chelsea Football Club, and by me, and it will not happen again.

‘Looking forward, I will continue to do my part in assisting the club to remove all types of discriminatory behaviour from football.

‘I am extremely grateful for the consistent support of Chelsea FC, the fans and my family.’

As he settles into life at Stamford Bridge, Victor Moses admitted on Wednesday that he was in shock when he first discovered Chelsea wanted to sign him.

Speaking to fans via a Twitter Q&A, the Nigeria international, who helped secure his nation’s place at the African Nations over the past week, spent around half an hour answering questions about all kinds of topics, including how it felt to join Chelsea after two-and-a-half years with Wigan.

‘I was in shock, I couldn’t believe it at first and was really pleased when it happened,’ he said, responding to @JimmyNguyenCFC’s question, later describing the transfer as the best moment of his short career so far.

Unsurprisingly, given their international connections, we also learned that Moses sits alongside John Mikel Obi in the Chelsea dressing room.

‘Everyone was very welcoming, I sit next to Mikel Obi,’ he told @vendaveronica, adding that he sang a Skepta song as his initiation in response to @JackDriver_. Moses also believes being at Chelsea will only improve his game, as he is ‘playing alongside some of the best players in the world, so I can only learn from them.’

Looking ahead, Moses is eagerly anticipating a return to Japan, a country he visited on a school trip a few years ago.

‘I’ve been there before with my school. We had a tournament there and it was great. I loved the Japanese food,’ he told @yohey8.

You can keep up with Moses via Twitter and Facebook using @victormoses or www.facebook.com/victormoses1990, while the official club accounts can be found at @chelseafc and www.facebook.com/chelseafc.

Ashley Cole earned his 99^th international cap by playing the full 90 minutes in England’s rearranged World Cup qualifier against Poland in Warsaw.

The game, which was postponed last night due to a waterlogged pitch, eventually took place earlier today and finished 1-1, a result which keeps England top of the group.

Wayne Rooney put the visitors in front against the run of play when he reacted quickest to head home from a Steven Gerrard corner after 31 minutes, and that’s how it remained until the break.

Jermain Defoe wasted a fantastic opportunity to double England’s lead shortly after the hour when he miss-hit his far-post volley from another Gerrard cross.

The hosts drew level in the 69^th minute when Kamil Glik rose highest to meet Ludovic Obraniak’s corner, although the Poles were helped in no small part by Joe Hart who came off his line to claim and was left punching thin air.

Gary Cahill was an unused substitute.

Towards the end of his playing career Roberto Di Matteo told Chelsea’s matchday programme he did not intend to become a manager, and after premature retirement, forced upon him after a broken leg, Di Matteo took a step away from football and moved into business and finance.

A decade on, the Italian occupies the manager’s office at Stamford Bridge with a Champions League medal hanging around his neck. What happened?

‘People change!’ he laughs, recalling his earlier attitude. ‘I don’t know what it was, age perhaps. I was still playing then.

‘When you’re a football man you are hooked, it’s like an addiction. You can live without it for a little while but the addiction is always there, and I just felt at some point that I wanted to live those moments during the week where you are tense, you feel the adrenalin and the emotions that you don’t get in another job. I’ve had it all my life and I can live without it for a little while but it’s always there, I had the fire in my belly again and wanted to do something in football.

‘I still had a great time doing other things. There is a time in life for everything, and it was the right time for me after my injury to finish that chapter in my life, get away from it and then begin a new one.

‘I think it helped me, it gave me some balance, but I didn’t see coming back into football as unfinished business. I was very happy with my career. Some people finish their career with age, some others with injury and others with their own decision, everybody is different but I never felt like it was unfinished business.’

Appointed manager of MK Dons in the summer of 2008, the former midfielder earned promotion into the Premier League at West Bromwich Albion, where his side impressed on their return to the top flight before a run of poor results saw him dismissed in early 2011. Andre Villas-Boas approached him to be number two at Stamford Bridge that summer, and after the Portuguese departed in the spring, Di Matteo took the reins and has not looked back.

Popular with his players and with a calm exterior, he lists a number of coaches from his own playing career that have influenced his management style.

‘Arrigo Sacchi in many ways, Dino Zoff was my first manager at Lazio, I had a Swiss coach, Rolf Fringer, who became national team coach, and Ruud Gullit here in England,’ he says, explaining the balance between Italian caution and Dutch flair that seems to have instilled itself in his side.

So far this season he has been able to gel the incoming talents of Eden Hazard, Oscar, Victor Moses with the majority of his existing squad, reducing the average age but maintaining results.

He has been helped by the presence of Steve Holland and Eddie Newton, the latter whom he brought in upon his appointment having had him at his side in his previous roles, and the 42-year-old believes he is surrounded by the perfect team.

‘We’ve a good understanding among the technical staff,’ he says. ‘They are very supportive and both have good knowledge of the game. We’ve developed a strong trustworthy group, and we have [conditioning coach] Chris Jones and [goalkeeping coach] Christophe Lollichon with us as well, so I’m happy with the management staff.

‘This last week has been quite quiet for us – we’ve basically trained and coached the Under-21 team. We’ve had the groups together because we had only six players, last international break it was three, so it’s good for us to take a look at the younger players and good for them to be involved with us.’

With crucial games to come over the next fortnight, things are about to become very busy again. But as he says himself, Di Matteo will relish it. There is nowhere else he would rather be.