Chelsea captain John Terry describes goal celebration as 'banter' aimed at Stoke City fans

John Terry has revealed his goal celebration in Chelsea's 2-0 FA Cup win against Stoke City was a reaction to the attention he had received from the away fans.

Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game

Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets!

Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25

Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200

Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20!

Terry had been subject to abuse from the travelling Stoke support throughout the game, and after his headed goal put his side 2-0 up he celebrated enthusiastically — seemingly pointing to the captain's armband throughout.

"I was just giving the Stoke fans a bit of banter, that was all," Terry told the club's official website.

"They were giving me a bit of stick and I was just giving a bit back, and that is what football is about."

Stoke manager Tony Pulis defended his side's fans after the game.

"Our fans are brilliant, different class," Pulis told The Sun.

"John will have to accept he'll take stick. He took stick from England supporters the other night."

And the 29-year-old seemed to understand the attention he received.

"They are entitled to do what they do and so am I on the pitch, as long as they take it in the right manner. I am sure they did," he said.

"You just get on with it as a player. One way to get through it is to play well and to score was the icing on the cake. "

The captain can now look forward to leading his side out at Wembley, where the Blues will take on Aston Villa in the semi-final. But for now he is just pleased with a good response after last weekend's disappointing 4-2 defeat against Manchester City.

'It has been a good week," he added.

"It was good to get away with England, play 90 minutes and then come back here and show the fans how disappointed we were by how we played last week."