Chelsea: Terry stays skipper

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck says
John Terry will remain the captain of
the club, despite his four-game FA
suspension for racially abusing Anton
Ferdinand of QPR.
Manager Roberto Di Matteo had
refused to say on Friday whether Terry
would retain the captain's armband
but Buck has now confirmed that
Terry's internal punishment will not
include such a sanction.
However, chief executive Ron Gourlay
says that Terry has been given a "very
heavy fine" by Chelsea.
Buck told Talksport: "John Terry will
continue to be captain of the club. The
other question you're likely to ask is
whether we are going to suspend him
for any matches, in addition to the four
the FA suspended him for, and we are
not.
"We have taken disciplinary action. We
think it is firm disciplinary action and
appropriate for the circumstances. In
setting the appropriate level of
discipline, we have kept in mind that a
court of criminal law found him not
guilty.
"Of course we note the FA decision
and we certainly respect that decision
and we have taken these factors and
other factors in mind. We have
consulted with the owner, Mr
Abramovich, and this is not a decision
we have taken lightly."
Gourlay added: "What we have to take
into consideration is that John has
played over 550 times for the football
club and he has captained the side
over 400 times. He has led the club
and team tremendously during these
games, I think he has received about
five red cards in that period of time.
"We believe it was a lapse of
judgement and that it was out of
character on the field for John. He did
fall below the high standards that we
expect at the football club and, as the
chairman said, we considered this over
a long period of time. He has been
disciplined by the club. It is a very, very
heavy fine."