Terry’s European ban reduced on appeal

Chelsea captain John Terry will be able to play from the start of the Blues’ Champions League campaign after having his three-match ban reduced on appeal by Uefa.

The England defender was sent off in last season’s semi-final second leg against Barcelona in the Nou Camp for an off-the-ball clash with Alexis Sanchez.

The offence saw Terry handed an automatic three-match suspension for violent conduct — the first game of which was the final against Bayern Munich, where the Blues won the Europe’s top prize for the first time after a dramatic penalty shoot-out.

However, UEFA have partially upheld Terry’s subsequent appeal, which means he will now also miss the Super Cup clash with Europa League winners Atletico Madrid on August 31, but with the remaining sanction suspended for three years.

A statement from UEFA read: “The UEFA Appeals Body has partially upheld John Terry’s appeal against the three-match European ban imposed on the Chelsea FC defender at the end of last season.

“Although the central defender is still suspended for three UEFA club competition matches, the third game of the ban has now been deferred for a probationary period of three years.

“The UEFA Appeals Body decided to partially uphold Terry’s appeal against the three-match suspension handed down to him by the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body on 31 May.

“The England player served the first game of his European ban when he did not participate in the UEFA Champions League final against FC Bayern München on 19 May. He will also sit out Chelsea’s UEFA Super Cup match against Club Atlético de Madrid on 31 August.

“The original punishment related to Terry’s sending-off in the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg at FC Barcelona on 24 April.”

Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic, meanwhile, will not face any suspension despite his red card in Sunday’s fiery Community Shield defeat to Man City.

Ivanovic was sent off by referee Kevin Friend near end of the first half.

The Serbian caught fellow countryman Aleksandar Kolarov with a high tackle which Friend deemed worthy of a straight red card.

It was thought Ivanovic would be banned for three matches, starting with Chelsea’s opening Premier League fixture at Wigan next Sunday.

However, it now appears the FA changed their rules after an incident during an Amsterdam Tournament in 2006, when Manchester United pair Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney were both sent off against Porto and ended up serving three-match bans.

As the rule change covered all non-competitive pre-season fixtures, including the Community Shield, it means Ivanovic will be free to play at the DW Stadium.