John Terry Admits Improper Conduct Charge

Two months after accusing Graham Poll of giving conflicting reasons for his sending off during Chelsea's 2-1 defeat Tottenham, John Terry has performed a surprising about-face and admitted an FA charge of improper conduct.

Terry, backed by manager Jose Mourinho, had previously defended his position vigorously, going so far as to request a personal hearing into the matter, and there has been no explanation from Chelsea as yet for the change in his stance. His punishment will now be decided by an FA disciplinary commission tomorrow.

"John Terry has withdrawn his request for a personal hearing and has admitted a charge of improper conduct," read an FA statement. "The charge relates to comments made about referee Graham Poll following Chelsea's match at Tottenham on November 5. The case will be dealt with tomorrow by a disciplinary commission on the basis of written submissions."

Terry's remarks about Poll originally appeared on Chelsea's own television channel. At the time, the FA released another statement announcing: "Terry claimed in an interview, which was widely reported, that Poll had given him conflicting reasons for his second yellow card, saying: 'On the pitch, Graham Poll said to me that it was for the barge on Hossam Ghaly where I just kept running. Then, after the game, he then said to me it was for the fall when me and Ledley King fell so, you know, he's obviously had a look at it, or got people to look at it and decided that's probably the best option for him and it covers every angle for him.'"