UPDATE: According to UEFA, the Guardian's report is malarky. "If Chelsea win the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, John Terry will be allowed to lift the trophy and collect the medal," UEFA said in a statement. So Wayne Bridge (and the Guardian) can calm down.

Chelsea captain John Terry was shown a straight red card after giving Alexis Sanchez a knee to the backside in the 37th minute of their Champions League semifinal second leg match against Barcelona. Though it pushed Chelsea towards certain doom, the rest of the team kept their focus and beat Barcelona to earn a place in the final. The exact length of Terry's UEFA ban has yet to be decided, but it will be at least one match and that one match will be the Champions League final.

From the Guardian:

Although Chelsea expect Terry to attend the game in Germany, he will not be permitted to sit on the bench and will have to watch from the stands, just as Paul Scholes and Roy Keane did with Manchester United in 1999 when the midfielders were serving one-match bans. The vice-captain, Frank Lampard, if available and selected, will lead out the team in Terry's absence in Germany and Uefa expects the winning side's captain on the night to mount the podium and accept the trophy. Any proposed change to that arrangement would have to be sanctioned by the governing body's disciplinary committee, but Chelsea are currently relaxed on the issue. Lampard said: "My ego doesn't need to lift it. I'd love to be a part of the team that wins it and, if we do, anyone can lift [the trophy]. But I'm devastated for John. He's a huge player for the club, a central point as the captain. He'll be there with us. It was hard to console him on Tuesday night but, hopefully, we can win it and do it as a group."

So if Chelsea win, Terry will have to stand by and watch as someone else -- anyone else -- hoists the trophy. This after he missed a decisive penalty in the shootout that prevented Chelsea from winning their first Champions League title in 2008.

The Champions League final: Where John Terry lives out his ultimate nightmares in front of the whole world.