Terry defends Chelsea players over Ibrahimovic dismissal

Chelsea captain John Terry has defended the actions of he and his team-mates for their part in Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s dismissal in Wednesday’s clash with Paris Saint-Germain.

Ibrahimovic was shown a straight red card by referee Bjorn Kuipers for a challenge on Oscar, with Chelsea players reacting angrily and crowding the official after the tackle.

The Sweden star described the Chelsea players as “babies” in the aftermath.

PSG prevailed in the UEFA Champions League last-16 tie, as a 2-2 draw after extra time saw them through on away goals, despite having played for an hour and a half with 10 men.

The actions of the Chelsea players drew the ire of Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness after the match, which Terry believed was unfair criticism.

“From them? Yeah. I don’t want to get involved in a row, but as a group it’s difficult,” Terry said.

“It’s there and you have to stick up for your team-mates. The fans want to see that and that’s the same with every side.

“Every other side is as bad as each other. It’s part of the game.”

Terry also claimed that he and his team were simply responding to what they felt were similar actions by their opponents.

“Once they’re charging the ref, the only thing we can do is respond. You can’t as a group of players let them surround the ref, trying to get our players booked.

“For me, if I have to run 20, 30 yards, it doesn’t look great but when you’re standing back and seeing five or six of their players surrounding the ref, for me I think I support my team-mates.

“Once I go, four or five go with me. It doesn’t look good at all, but that’s part of the game. We’ll match it if people want to mix it, that’s part of our game as well.”