John Terry fights FA charge over Anton Ferdinand incident

Chelsea captain John Terry has denied a Football Association charge for his part in last season's incident with QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.

 Terry, 31, is alleged to have used "abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour" in the 23 October match.

 The FA statement read: "It is alleged that this included a reference to the ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race of Ferdinand." England defender Terry has, as expected, requested a personal hearing.

 Last month Terry was cleared at Westminster Magistrates' Court of racially abusing Ferdinand during the Premier League game between the west London sides.

 It was alleged Terry had insulted Ferdinand, describing him as "black" and using extreme sexual swear words. But in reaching a not guilty verdict, chief magistrate Howard Riddle stated it was "possible that what was said was not intended as an insult but rather as a challenge to what he believed had been said to him".

 The prosecution had to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Terry had used the words in an insulting manner, which it could not.

 But the FA only has to prove its case "on the balance of probabilities". Fabio Capello resigned as England manager in February after Terry was stripped of the captaincy because of the allegations.

 Capello's successor Roy Hodgson included Terry in the squad that played at Euro 2012.

Read more »

Chelsea Skipper John Terry Could be Hit With Eight Match FA Ban

JOHN TERRY faces a possible eight-game ban following the FA’s decision to charge the Chelsea skipper over his much-publicised clash with QPR’s Anton Ferdinand at Loftus Road last October.

 Just a fortnight after Westminster Magistrates Court cleared the England defender of a racially aggravated public order offence, Terry now finds himself in the FA dock and fighting to clear his name again.

 Terry insists he will seek a personal hearing in a bid to prove his innocence.

  Chelsea ‘privately’ believe that the FA’s punishment will have influenced by Liverpool fans who feel that John Terry’s offence warrants a ban of similar proportions to that handed to Uruguayan international Patrice Evra.

 Though cleared by the criminal courts the burden of proof in an FA hearing is substantially lower and there feeling is that the powers that be will look to punish the Stamford Bridge centre back, implying that they are not convinced by the case made by the player’s defence at Westminster Magistrates Court earlier this month.

 Chelsea are sure to appeal any such ban but will probably not need to go out looking for a replacement defensive option given that when fully fit Roberto Di Matteo has three perfectly capable centre backs to call upon, namely Gary Cahill, David Luiz and Branislav Ivanovic.

Read more »

Terry found not guilty

Chelsea captain John Terry has been cleared of racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.

 Following a five-day trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court, Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle said on Friday that Terry was not a racist and handed down the not guilty verdict after no first-hand evidence was given regarding what the Chelsea captain actually said.

 "The issue for the court is not to decide whether Mr Terry is a racist - I have received unchallenged evidence he is not," Riddle said. "The issue is whether Mr Terry uttered the words as an insult.

" "Even with all the help received, it is impossible to be sure exactly what were the words spoken by John Terry at the relevant time.

 "It is a crucial fact that nobody has given evidence about what Mr Terry said or how he said it.

" Terry was accused of calling Ferdinand a 'f****** black c***' during a Premier League match on October 23 last year.

 Riddle described Ferdinand as 'brave' to give evidence, adding: "Overall I found Anton Ferdinand to be a believable witness on the central issue.

" After the verdict was announced the Crown Prosecution Service stated: "It was our view that this was not 'banter' on the pitch and the allegation should have been judged (upheld) by court.

" Immediately after the verdict Terry was escorted to a waiting car without giving his interpretation of the verdict.

Read more »