John Terry, the former Chelsea legend, has ignited a firestorm following a controversial claim that José Mourinho once ordered him to receive booked cards in three consecutive Premier League games to ensure he didn’t miss a crucial match against Man United. Terry, 45, played under Mourinho during both spells at Stamford Bridge, and recounted a specific incident where he was given a holiday to Dubai after accumulating yellow cards to prevent him from missing a crucial fixture.
Terry stated, ‘We played, I think it was like the second round of the FA Cup, Walsall away or something.’
He then detailed a scenario where Mourinho instructed him to receive booked cards in three consecutive Premier League games to prevent him from missing a match against Manchester United. He explained that Mourinho then ordered him to miss the FA Cup game, ensuring he received a booked card in the next three league games.
Subsequently, Terry revealed that he was booked the first game, second game, and then four times, with the final booking occurring after he was standing near the goal, with the ref saying, ‘Come on, throw it.’
He added, ‘There’s a throw-in in the left corner and I said to one of the boys, ‘Leave it.’ He leaves it, and I’m standing there with the ball like this. I’m not throwing it because I know the ref’s going ‘come on.’
We were playing someone at home, and it was the 89th minute and he was saying to me, ‘F***ing get booked, get booked.’
Terry claimed that Mourinho orchestrated this planned suspension for him. He stated that Mourinho told him to receive booked cards in three straight games to ensure he didn’t miss a crunch Premier League encounter against Manchester United.
He then explained how he followed his manager’s orders to ensure the plan came to fruition. He added, ‘There’s a throw-in in the left corner and I said to one of the boys, ‘Leave it.’ He leaves it, and I’m standing there with the ball like this. I’m not throwing it because I know the ref’s going ‘come on.’
We’re winning the game, and he’s going: ‘Come on, throw it.’ And I’m going: ‘There’s no option. I got no options, ref, mate.’
I’m waiting about two minutes. In the end, he comes over and books me. I drop the ball and just go running back.
He (Mourinho) sends me to Dubai for four days after. Little bits like that. It was just so good.
However, Terry’s recollections were questioned by some fans and internet sleuths who looked into the records to see if that really happened. One said: ‘He’s mashing up 3 events… the things happened, just not as he remembers.’
Scunthorpe 2005: Rested before the Man Utd game. Huddersfield 2006: Dubai break with Super Frank. Wolves 2011: Deliberately got a 90th minute 5th yellow to miss a cup tie. This was under Villas-Boas.
And it appears that Terry may have indeed misremembered certain elements from his career, with the former Chelsea captain having never picked up three successive yellow cards under Mourinho in the Premier League.
During his time at the club, Chelsea also didn’t come up against Walsall in the FA Cup, although they did play the Saddlers in a League Cup tie in 2015. On that day, Terry played and was booked in the 52nd minute of the match.
Some fans questioned Terry’s memories about when and where he picked up yellow cards
Some supporters did leap to his defense though as one added: ‘Maybe when you’re playing an insane amount of matches and have highs and lows throughout 30+ years in football, you simply get yellow cards and games mixed up.’
'Do we sometimes forget simple stuff too?'
Terry’s memories could also have been muddled by a mid-season break he was granted by Mourinho in December 2014.
At the time, the Portuguese boss publicly confirmed that he had given Terry, Eden Hazard and Willian a few days off ahead of a Champions League tie with Sporting Lisbon due to the hectic schedule his side faced.
During his time at the club, Chelsea also didn’t come up against Walsall in the FA Cup, although they did play the Saddlers in a League Cup tie in 2015. On that day, Terry played and was booked in the 52nd minute of the match.
Some fans questioned Terry’s memories about when and where he picked up yellow cards
Some supporters did leap to his defense though as one added: ‘Maybe when you’re playing an insane amount of matches and have highs and lows throughout 30+ years in football, you simply get yellow cards and games mixed up.’
'Do we sometimes forget simple stuff too?'
Terry’s memories could also have been muddled by a mid-season break he was granted by Mourinho in December 2014.
At the time, the Portuguese boss publicly confirmed that he had given Terry, Eden Hazard and Willian a few days off ahead of a Champions League tie with Sporting Lisbon due to the hectic schedule his side faced.
During his time at the club, Chelsea also didn’t come up against Walsall in the FA Cup, although they did play the Saddlers in a League Cup tie in 2015. On that day, Terry played and was booked in the 52nd minute of the match.
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Source: Sport
