Chelsea captain John Terry has escaped a ban after being fined and reprimanded for improper conduct. He was charged in relation to comments made about referee Graham Poll after being sent off in the defeat against Tottenham in November.

Yesterday he withdrew his request for a personal hearing and admitted the charge and has been fined £10,000 and reprimanded by a Football Association Disciplinary Commission hearing.

A Disciplinary Commission statement read: "Whilst noting the late admission to the charge, and the excellent previous disciplinary record of John Terry, \[we] were extremely disappointed that the integrity of referee Graham Poll had been called into question, and that no public apology had been forthcoming for his admitted improper conduct."

Terry claimed Poll gave him conflicting reasons for the sending-off and the FA brought the charge on the basis that he was questioning the referee's integrity.

Terry's remarks about Poll appeared on Chelsea's own television channel.

The FA said in a statement announcing the charge last month: "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."'  PA