John Terry: 'Mourinho doesn't ask us to hound referees'

By Paul Gorst, Reporter | 15 March 2015

Chelsea captain John Terry rejects suggestions that manager Jose Mourinho asks his players to surround officials to get beneficial decisions.

Chelsea captain John Terry has rejected suggestions that Jose Mourinho instructs his players to hassle officials to benefit the team.

The Blues players came in for criticism for surrounding referee Bjorn Kuipers as Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off in Wednesday's Champions League exit at home to Paris Saint-Germain.

However Terry has dismissed claims that the tactic is something that is premeditated by Mourinho before games.

"Has Jose ever asked us to put pressure on officials? No never. Not in his previous time here, or this time, it's the complete opposite," he told Sky Sports News.

"Never has the manager, or in fact any other manager I've worked with has insisted on that.

"When we sit down with the PFA and the Premier League every season [hassling officials] is spoken about and it is brought up and it's our duty as captain to make that run and it's not to go there and get players sent off, it's to pull away my teammates."

Chelsea host top-four hopefuls Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.