Chelsea legend John Terry has sparked criticism from fans after claiming that José Mourinho once asked him to deliberately receive yellow cards across three consecutive matches to trigger a suspension.

Terry, 45, played under Mourinho during both of the Portuguese manager's spells as Chelsea's head coach. He recalls how Mourinho rewarded him with a trip to Dubai after he deliberately accumulated yellow cards to ensure he would miss an important Premier League match against Manchester United.

Speaking on the podcast 'FC Bullard The Show', Terry said: "There was a fixture coming up, I think it was an FA Cup second-round away tie to Walsall or something like that."

"And I'd already picked up two yellow cards from the three Premier League matches before. He pulled me aside and said, 'You need to miss that one (the FA Cup tie), because after Walsall, we're hosting Manchester United. I need you to miss the FA Cup match, so you need to get a yellow card in the next three league games.'"

"So I got a yellow in the first game, got a yellow in the second game. I'd picked up four yellow cards total, one more and I'd miss a match, and it worked out perfectly for the Walsall away tie. I could rest, and he could play his substitutes."

"We're at home, and up to the 89th minute, he's screaming at me, 'Get a yellow card, get a yellow card.'"

Terry then explained how he followed his manager's instructions to complete the plan.

He continued: "There was a throw-in near the corner flag on the left, and I said to one of my teammates, 'Leave it, I'll take it.' He goes, and I'm standing there with the ball, just not throwing it, because I knew the referee would say, 'Hurry up.'"

"We're winning, and the ref says, 'Come on, throw the ball in.' I said, 'There's nowhere to throw it to, ref, I genuinely have no options.'"

"I probably needed about two minutes. Eventually, he came over and gave me a yellow card. I threw the ball and ran straight back into position."

"Mourinho then let me go to Dubai for four days. It's little things like that, and it felt brilliant."

However, Terry's account has been questioned by some fans and online fact-checkers who have reviewed historical records to verify whether the incident actually occurred.

One fan commented: "He's mixing up three different things... The events did happen but not the way he remembers them."

"2005 vs Scunthorpe: rested before Man Utd. 2006 vs Huddersfield: trip to Dubai with Super Frank. 2011 vs Wolves: deliberately got a fifth yellow in the 90th minute to miss a cup tie. The manager was Villas-Boas."

It appears Terry may have misremembered several aspects of his career, as the former Chelsea captain never received three consecutive Premier League yellow cards during Mourinho's tenure.

Chelsea also never faced Walsall in the FA Cup during Terry's time at the club, though they did play the 'Saddlers' in the League Cup in 2015, a match in which Terry started and received a yellow card in the 52nd minute.

Nevertheless, some fans have defended Terry, with one comment reading: "Perhaps when you've played so many matches and been in football for over three decades through its ups and downs, yellow cards and matches all blend together?"

"Don't we all forget simple things too?"

Terry's false recollection could also be attributed to a mid-season break Mourinho gave him in December 2014.

At that time, the Portuguese coach publicly confirmed that he had given Terry, Eden Hazard, and Willian a few days off before a Champions League match against Sporting Lisbon due to the team's congested fixture schedule.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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