John Terry criticizes FA’s handling of racial abuse Case
Former England and Chelsea captain John Terry found himself embroiled in controversy when accusations surfaced of him using racially abusive language toward Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match between Chelsea and QPR in 2011.
Despite being acquitted in a criminal trial at Westminster Magistrates Court due to lack of evidence, Terry faced consequences from the Football Association (FA) in a separate hearing.
In a hearing conducted by an FA independent regulatory commission, Terry was found guilty of the offense. He accepted the verdict without appeal, acknowledging a four-match ban and a £220,000 fine, subsequently retiring from international football.
Terry has since spoken out against the FA’s proceedings, alleging a lack of fairness. He has disclosed strained relationships with Anton Ferdinand and his older brother, former England international Rio Ferdinand. Terry even contends that evidence crucial to his defense was disregarded during the FA’s inquiry.
“I could have overcome it, given a fair trial again, and given the evidence which we had in the court of law, which was refused by the FA,” Terry told William Hill’s ‘Up Front With Simon Jordan’ podcast. When asked directly by interviewer Jordan whether he thought he had a fair trial, he said “no I didn’t.
“I go into Wembley on the first day and my lawyers and myself demand evidence to be in, that was in the court of law, and it was refused – literally and blatantly,” Terry continued. “So we then have an hour’s meeting outside of that.
“Board members are refused entry to come and give evidence backing me and telling their side of the story. So right from the outset it wasn’t going to be a fair trial, clearly. They’d made up their mind right from the outset, in my mind. Did I feel like it was fair going into it? Did I want to put myself through four days of absolute hell again? No I didn’t,” Terry said, as per The Mirror.
Terry’s attempt to reach out to Anton and Rio Ferdinand after the incident
John Terry stated that he tried to establish contact with Anton and Rio Ferdinand immediately after the game but was essentially rebuffed instantly.
Terry narrating how he tried to reach out said, “I knew Anton, we were mates,” he continued. “I wasn’t socially but we knew each other and we always got on well. Obviously got on well with Rio.
“We could have done something that was probably more powerful than what came about in the end, and that’s probably my disappointment, because it’s in the game – clearly, in the stadiums and all of that – that we need to get out, for sure. We could have done something really powerful as a group of players – not only us but everybody else, I think, at the time.
“Since then I’ve tried to speak to Rio, who doesn’t want to talk to me at all, I’ve seen him on the beach in Dubai and [he’s] refused to speak to me, and there’s not much more I can do. I think it could have been addressed and could have been dealt with a lot better.”
