Steward ‘doesn’t blame’ Terry after being crushed by car

By Chris Greenwood

Thursday, March 18, 2010

SECURITY guard Steve Rowley insists he does not blame captain John Terry for the leg injuries he sustained in a car accident after Chelsea’s Champions League defeat to Inter Milan.

Rowley, Chelsea’s deputy security manager, issued a statement through the club tonight in which he was quick to absolve Terry of any responsibility for the incident.

The 29-year-old’s Range Rover hit the club official as he left Stamford Bridge last night.

Eye witnesses said Rowley was caught under a wheel as he cleared a scrum of photographers and fans from Terry’s slow-moving car.

It had been feared the guard had sustained a broken leg but Rowley has now confirmed it was left badly bruised.

"Contrary to media reports I’ve been reading this evening I did not suffer a broken leg in last night’s incident at Stamford Bridge," said Rowley.

"It is badly bruised. John was quickly in contact with me once he realised what had happened and there’s no bad feeling at all on my part.

"It wasn’t his fault at all, it was a complete accident. I won’t be commenting further on the matter."

Terry was not aware of the accident until he was telephoned by the club shortly afterwards. He was later breathalysed by Surrey Police and found to be within the legal alcohol limit.

The footballer was not aware of the accident until he was telephoned at home in Oxshott, Surrey, the club said.

The former England captain has since spoken to his injured colleague by telephone to check on his welfare, Chelsea said earlier. Photographs from the scene show the steward, smartly dressed in a dark woollen jacket, clutching his leg as paramedics attended to him.

A Chelsea spokesman said: "We can confirm there was an unfortunate accident as John Terry left Stamford Bridge last night.

"When driving out of the stadium at approximately 1-2mph in a queue of traffic exiting the ground, his car was surrounded by photographers and fans.

"In the melee that ensued a member of Chelsea’s security staff was knocked to the ground, making contact with the car. He suffered a badly bruised leg. John was aware at the time that there was a lot of contact with his car during the incident, but not that anyone was injured as a result."

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Thursday, March 18, 2010