Soccer: UEFA shut down Terry's hopes to lift trophy

John Terry's lingering hopes of lifting the Champions League trophy are set to be dashed because  UEFA do not like banned players participating in the presentation ceremony.

Terry, sent off in yesterday's semi-final win in Barcelona, will be unable to sit on the  bench in Munich and will have to watch from the stands, along with Raul Meireles,  Ramires and Branislav Ivanovic, all suspended for picking up yellow cards.

Frank Lampard, who will stand in for Terry as captain, said he did not mind who lifted the trophy if Chelsea were to win the European Cup for the first time.

"My ego doesn't need to lift it," he said. "I'd love to be part of the team that wins it and, if we do, anyone can lift it."

UEFA, however, expect the winning captain on the night to lift the trophy and any request for change has to be sanctioned by the disciplinary committee.

Chelsea say the issue is not a priority for them and they are not pressing for action.

Roy Keane and Paul Scholes did not take part in the presentation ceremony when Manchester United won the Champions League in 1999 because they were banned from the final.

And when Barcelona won at Wembley last year, their captain Carles Puyol accepted the trophy and immediately handed it to Eric Abidal to hoist into the air. Abidal had come on as a late substitute after making an emotional return to the team following his fight against liver cancer.

Any Chelsea attempt to allow Terry on to the podium in Munich would be frowned upon, although he and others banned from the game will be entitled to one of the 30 gold medals given to the winners.

UEFA are considering a change to the yellow card system, though. In Euro 2012, all yellow cards will be wiped out after the group stage, meaning no-one can miss the final on a three-yellow-card, totting-up basis. A similar system could be introduced in the Champions League.

Having been allocated just 25,000 tickets for the FA Cup final, Chelsea supporters were dealt a second ticket blow in eight days after being assigned only 17,500 tickets for next month's final in Munich. The allocation is barely a quarter of the Allianz Arena's 66,000 capacity, with prices ranging from £57 to £303.

- THE DAILY MAIL