Terry may face extended ban for red card in semifinal

UEFA's disciplinary panel will decide whether to extend the Chelsea captain John Terry's punishment after his red card for violent conduct against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final.

UEFA's disciplinary panel will decide whether to extend the Chelsea captain John Terry's punishment after his red card for violent conduct against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final.

HT Image

Terry receives a mandatory one-match ban and will miss the final on 19 May in Munich, but UEFA rules allow its disciplinary body to extend the sanction, which would apply next season in European matches. The panel is scheduled to meet on May 31.

Four Chelsea players are suspended for the final. Branislav Ivanovic, Raul Meireles and Ramires each received one-match bans for their third bookings in the competition.

Guardiola defends Messi over miss

Pep Guardiola has defended Lionel Messi after his penalty miss as good as cost Barcelona a place in the final.

Messi has enjoyed an extraordinary run of form in the past four seasons, scoring 63 goals in all competitions this season alone. However, he failed to find the net in either leg of Barcelona's semi-final against Chelsea – and crashed his second-half penalty off the bar during their 3-2 aggregate defeat. "We have got this far thanks to this kid. More than ever I want to thank him for what he's done.”

Windfall for blues

Chelsea have guaranteed the biggest-ever TV money windfall from beating Barcelona. The club will earn at least £45m (R 382.5 crore), with a further £2.8m (R23.8 crore) to come if they win the trophy, from Uefa’s payments of TV cash alone. Clubs can then double that income from ticket sales, sponsorship and merchandise.