John Terry has expressed regret that football matches have been called off following a series of incidents in cities across the country, and on behalf of the Chelsea squad, has appealed for the trouble to stop.

The Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham and Everton has been postponed, following on from England's midweek match against Holland being called off, a game in which Terry would have taken part.

'I'm very saddened,' said Terry.

'When an England game or a Premier League game has to be called off, it's very sad.

'What we are seeing is devastating images of what's happening out there in the communities, for families, for businesses. In a lot of cities, a lot of people are losing their homes and their businesses, it's not nice to see.

'We urge for calm on the streets and safety for the public. The police have done a great job and things have calmed down. We're hoping it will improve night after night.'

Terry hopes that the voice of footballers up and down the country will be heeded.

'So many people love football and the kids on the streets, when something like that happens, they don't necessarily want to relate to people high up,' said the Chelsea and England captain.

'They want to relate to people who have come from their backgrounds and like many players, I came from a really poor estate and I grew up on the streets.

'We can still relate to people. My family still lives on the same estates on which I grew up. I go back there many times a year and see the young kids in the youth clubs and I know the workers still working there. I also go back to my school.

'All we can do is collectively come together and send the message out that we urge for calm on the streets. Players have been in a very similar position to where some young people are, and we didn't do it when we were younger.'

Chelseafc.com