THE PREMIER League have suspended the pre-match handshake at Sunday’s game between Chelsea and QPR due to the legal situation involving John Terry and Anton Ferdinand.
Ferdinand’s lawyers had advised him not to shake Terry’s hand – the first time the pair would have met in a Premier League match since the Chelsea captain was accused of racially abusing the QPR player in October.
After taking legal advice, the Premier League have now decided to suspend the handshake convention. A statement read: “The Premier League position on the pre-match handshake convention remains consistent. In all normal circumstances it must be observed.
“However, after discussions with both Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers about the potential and specific legal context in relation to John Terry and Anton Ferdinand the decision has been taken to suspend the handshake convention for Sunday’s match.”
Terry will, however, be allowed to collect the Champions League trophy on Chelsea’s behalf should they defeat Bayern Munich in next month’s final, despite his being banned from playing in the game, after Uefa appeared to change its stance regarding the restrictions on all suspended players at the showpiece event.
After Terry received a straight red card during Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Barcelona in their semi-final at the Camp Nou on Tuesday it was intimated by Uefa that he would not be allowed to perform his normal captaincy duties in the event of his side winning at the Allianz Arena on May 19th and, like the six players who also cannot participate in the match because of suspension incurred through multiple bookings, would be barred completely from the on-pitch ceremony as well as sitting on the bench during play.
However, the governing body performed a U-turn yesterday when it announced that as well as being allowed access to their respective dressingrooms before kick-off all suspended players would be allowed to celebrate with team-mates. That means Terry can not only pick up what would be Chelsea’s first European Cup but do so as captain.
One stance Uefa is refusing to soften is that of not allowing the six players suspended on two yellow cards to take part in the final. The international players’ union, Fifpro, as well as figures such as the Bayern Munich chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, have called on the body to show clemency to Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires and Raul Meireles, and Bayern Munich’s David Alaba, Luiz Gustavo and Holger Badstuber.
Uefa remain unmoved and said: “The regulations of the competition are established at the beginning of the competition and remain in place for the duration of the season. Any changes to the regulations for the future would need to be proposed by the club competitions committee and approved by the executive committee.”
