Tuesday 1 August 2017 08:38, UK
The Football Association (FA) has decided to take no further action against John Terry or Chelsea after investigating the circumstances of his substitution in his final game at Stamford Bridge at the end of last season.
Having worn the number 26 jersey during his 19-year career at the club, Terry left the field through a mid-game guard of honour formed by his team-mates after 26 minutes of the champions' 5-1 win over Sunderland.
The FA's Integrity Department said it would investigate the substitution after it emerged that several punters had won thousands of pounds for betting on the exact time of Terry's substitution at odds of 100-1.
Shortly before the game, the editor of a Chelsea fanzine had tweeted that Terry would be withdrawn after 26 minutes.
However, it is understood the FA has now decided there is no case to answer as there is no evidence to suggest this was inside information intended for the purposes of betting and is therefore not a deliberate attempt at so-called spot-fixing.
Proving such an offence is notoriously difficult and it could also be argued that the tribute to Terry was not unprecedented as Didier Drogba was carried off by his Chelsea team-mates during the first half of a Premier League game against Sunderland in 2015.
