Terry's not fit to skipper England
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’.
