Chelsea to avoid Premier League investigation after John Terry's orchestrated goodbye

It was arranged between the Blues and Sunderland before the game

Terry was given an impromptu guard of honour as he left the pitch (Getty)

Chelsea will not be investigated by the Premier League following John Terry’s long, drawn-out, premeditated substitution as he brought down the curtain on his Stamford Bridge career.

Terry started the game but was withdrawn after 26^th minutes – for the shirt number he has worn his whole career at the Blues – and was given a guard of honour by his teammates as he was replaced by Gary Cahill.

Sunderland manager David Moyes revealed after the final whistle that he agreed to the extravagant goodbye as the game was stopped for more than two minutes to carry out the substitution.

The substitution process began when the clock ticked on to 26 minutes, which is the 27th minute of the match, and by the time he left the field through a guard of honour formed by his team-mates it was the 28th minute.

Diego Costa remonstrated with Black Cats goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to kick the ball out of play when the time came.

The moment was forecast on social media beforehand by the Chelsea fanzine editor, leading to questions as to whether it could have swayed betting patterns.

However, despite concerns about the legality of both teams agreeing to this, the Premier League are understood to be relaxed about Terry’s departure.

Football Association rules regarding match-fixing state that: “Fixing is arranging in advance the result or conduct of a match of competition, or any event within a match or competition.”

There is no suggestion that the move was anything to do with gambling and was just an attempt by Chelsea to give Terry a farewell to remember.