Showing posts with label Anton_Ferdinand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anton_Ferdinand. Show all posts

Monday, 9 July 2012

John Terry Trial Starts at Westminster

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Anton Ferdinand has told a court he would have been "very hurt" if he had heard John Terry racially abuse him.

Chelsea and England footballer Mr Terry, 31, is charged with a racially-aggravated public order offence - an allegation he denies.

It relates to a comment allegedly made by the Chelsea captain to the QPR defender when the teams played at Loftus Road last October.

The trial, set to last five days, is at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

If found guilty, the maximum sentence Mr Terry could receive is a £2,500 fine.

It is alleged that the Chelsea defender insulted Mr Ferdinand by calling him black with the use of extreme sexual swear words.

Lip reader and sign language interpreter Susan Whitewood concurred the bad language had been employed.

Mr Ferdinand told the court that initially he did not think any racist terms had been used.

But after the match, his girlfriend at the time played him a YouTube clip and he changed his mind.

The QPR defender told the court that if he had realised at the time he would have told officials.

"I would have been obviously very hurt and I probably wouldn't have reacted at the time because, being a professional, you can't do that.

"I probably would have let the officials know what happened and dealt with it after the game," he said.

"When someone brings your colour into it, it takes it to another level and it's very hurtful."

Under cross-examination, Mr Ferdinand said he was no stranger to being sworn at and agreed he had also sworn at players.

At the QPR home match on 23 October, Chelsea were down to nine men when Mr Ferdinand and Mr Terry began trading insults over a penalty claim, the court heard.

Asked why he was so angry with Mr Terry appealing for a penalty, Mr Ferdinand, describing himself as a "calm, collected player", said: "Because I am a winner."

Proceedings in court have been punctuated by swear words but Mr Ferdinand insisted he did not use those words off the pitch.

George Carter-Stephenson QC asked the witness if by shouting abuse at the Chelsea player he was "trying to get a rise out of Mr Terry and get him to react?"

"Probably, yes," responded Mr Ferdinand. "There wasn't long left in the game."

The QC suggested that Mr Ferdinand had made up the allegation of racism as swearing at him and talking about his alleged affair was not having "the desired effect" of winding Mr Terry up.

Mr Carter-Stephenson also suggested the player only decided to go to police when persuaded by his agent Justin Rigby.

But Mr Ferdinand replied: "No, I made up my own mind, I wanted to do it."

In re-examination, he said he was initially reluctant to talk to the police because it was a sporting issue.

"This is a footballing issue that happened on the football pitch where we work," Mr Ferdinand told the court.

The Chelsea captain was allowed out of the dock into the well of the court to view footage of the alleged insult.'

The court heard that Mr Terry maintains he was only sarcastically repeating words that Mr Ferdinand wrongly thought he had used, during the match which was broadcast to millions of people.

Opening the prosecution, Duncan Penny said: "The Crown's case is that the words were abusive and insulting in a straightforward sense."

He added that a racially abusive obscenity had been uttered "demonstrating hostility based on Mr Ferdinand's membership of a racial group".

"They were uttered by the defendant in response to goading by Mr Ferdinand on the issue of his extra-marital affair, rather than by way of exaggerated and instant querying of a perceived false allegation," he said.

Two TV clips and footage not previously broadcast of the incident, normally used for training purposes, were shown to the court.

The trial heard that Mr Ferdinand said something about the Chelsea player's alleged affair and made fist gestures, before Mr Terry responded.

Chelsea team-mates John Mikel Obi and Ashley Cole were nearby when insults were traded, but they will not be called as witnesses as part of the prosecution case.

In a statement to the Football Association five days afterwards, Mr Terry said that he and Mr Ferdinand had been exchanging "verbals" and he had made a gesture to imply Mr Ferdinand had bad breath.

He said: "We're still having a, sort of, ding-dong, if you like," adding that was when the QPR player had used a racially abusive obscenity.

Mr Terry said he did not think Mr Ferdinand was referring to him, but nevertheless he still took "strong offence".

The England defender said he was not offended by the taunts about the alleged affair with Wayne Bridge's ex-girlfriend, because "it's not the first time I've heard it, so it's with a pinch of salt a little bit now".

But he said he was angered by any accusation that he might have used a racist insult.

After the match, Mr Terry asked a steward to get Mr Ferdinand from the dressing room.

The Chelsea player said in his statement that he had asked Mr Ferdinand if he was accusing him of using racially abusive language towards him.

Later, in an interview, he added: "I'm being honest and open with you guys, that I didn't mean it in the context that, if you watch the video and me, watching the video, you can quite easily say that doesn't look good.

"But at the same time, in the context of what I thought Anton accused me of, you know, no-one can argue what my feelings were at that time."

Immediately after the match, Mr Ferdinand did not think that Mr Terry had used racist words, the court heard.

"It's handbags innit - it's what happens on the pitch", he said, and the two shook hands.

In a statement made to police last November, Mr Terry said he was offended by the accusation that he had used racist language.

"Whilst footballers are used to industrial language, using racist terms is completely unacceptable whatever [the] situation," the statement read.

"I was completely taken aback by this remark as I have never been accused of something like that and I did not take his remark lightly at all, and took strong offence to his suggestion."

Police questioned the ex England captain under caution in November 2011 after a complaint from a member of the public following the Premier League match.

As a summary offence under the Crime and Disorder Act, the trial will be fully dealt with in a magistrates' court, with no jury, and is being heard by Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle.

Anton Ferdinand has played for West Ham, Sunderland and QPR and is the brother of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry's England team-mate and defensive partner for the national side.


Friday, 27 April 2012

Premier League Decides No Shakes


The Premier League has announced there will be no pre-match handshakes at Sunday's game between Chelsea and QPR because of the legal case involving John Terry and Anton Ferdinand.

Chelsea skipper Terry is accused of racially abusing QPR's Ferdinand during a match at Loftus Road in October.

He denies the accusation but faces a court case, which starts on 9 July.

Ferdinand's lawyers had told him not to shake Terry's hand for fear that it could prejudice the forthcoming trial.

"The Premier League position on the pre-match handshake convention remains consistent," said a Premier League statement. "In all normal circumstances it must be observed.

"However, after discussions with both Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers about the potential and specific legal context in relation to John Terry and Anton Ferdinand, the decision has been taken to suspend the handshake convention for Sunday's match."

When the clubs met in the fourth round of the FA Cup in January the pre-match handshake was cancelled.

The QPR defender has told his manager and friends that he is in the right frame of mind to play on Sunday, despite the hostile atmosphere he is expected to face.

Terry was stripped of the England captaincy in February after he was charged by the Crown Prosecution Service with racially abusing Ferdinand.

The Chelsea defender has endured a difficult week, having been sent off for kneeing Alexis Sanchez in the back during Chelsea's Champions League semi-final victory over Barcelona. As a result he will be suspended for the final against Bayern Munich.

In February 2010, former team-mate Wayne Bridge publicly refused Terry's offer of a handshake before Chelsea's game with Manchester City. Bridge's decision followed allegations that Terry had an affair with the left-back's ex-girlfriend.

The pre-match handshake has also been a source of controversy this season. In February Liverpool striker Luis Suarez refused to shake Manchester United defender Patrice Evra's hand prior to the Reds' 2-1 defeat by United.

That followed on from Evra accusing Suarez of racially abusing him. The Liverpool player later apologised.

The Premier League has previously insisted the ritual, which it introduced into the top flight in 2004, is an important part of the game.

"It's not a handshake that says everybody loves everybody else," said Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore last month.

"It's a handshake that says 'whatever's gone on before now and whatever will go on after this game is over, for the next 90 minutes, let's just play a game of football'.

"It's nothing more symbolic than that, which is why in our view, they should continue - period."

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Wednesday, 1 February 2012

Terry Trial After EURO 2012


England football captain John Terry will stand trial for alleged racist abuse in July, after the final of the European Championship in July.

The Chelsea skipper is alleged to have made racist comments towards Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in a league match on 23 October 2011.

A not guilty plea was entered on Mr Terry's behalf at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

He will now stand trial on 9 July, nine days after Euro 2012.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Mr Terry, 31, is accused of a racially-aggravated public order offence.Following Wednesday's hearing, the footballer's legal team said in a statement: "Mr Terry looks forward to the opportunity to clear his name.

"Mr Terry denies making any racist statement and will establish in court that he is not guilty of any such offence.

"Mr Terry has never racially abused another player in his entire career.''

Police questioned Mr Terry under caution in November and a file on the matter was sent to the CPS at the beginning of December.

The decision to charge Mr Terry was taken after police received a complaint from a member of the public after the Premier League match at Loftus Road.

The maximum sentence for the offence is a fine of £2,500.

As a summary offence under the Crime and Disorder Act, it will be fully heard in a magistrates' court.



Friday, 27 January 2012

NOTHING to do with Sport.......


Police are investigating after a "malicious communication" - reportedly containing a bullet - was sent to Queens Park Rangers' training ground.

The Met would not reveal the letter's contents or the intended recipient.

The Fulham Chronicle says the bullet was sent in a letter addressed to QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.

QPR play Chelsea in the FA Cup at Loftus Road on Saturday for the first time since John Terry was charged with racially abusing Ferdinand.

"We are investigating an allegation of malicious communication received today at QPR FC," police said.

QPR and Chelsea released a joint statement on Friday evening announcing that "full searches" would be carried out as spectators arrived for the match which kicks off at 1200 GMT.

"We would like to advise supporters from both QPR and Chelsea to arrive early at the stadium," the statement said.

"Full searches will be carried out ahead of your entry to the ground, so please have your tickets to hand and be ready to be searched. Entry to the stadium will be permitted from 10.30am for the midday kick-off.

"We are asking for your full understanding and co-operation."

Paul Finney from the Independent Rs QPR website told BBC Radio 5 live he was "surprised, shocked and disappointed" by the "malicious communication" allegation.

"These guys have got families and he [Ferdinand] doesn't want to go on to a football field tomorrow fearing for his safety," he said.

"I cannot understand anyone who would do such an act. Anton Ferdinand will need the support of everyone in the ground tomorrow. Football has to win tomorrow."

Earlier, it was revealed that defender Ferdinand, 26, was considering refusing to shake hands with Chelsea captain Terry before the fourth-round tie.

Advisors and QPR officials had told Ferdinand that shaking hands with Terry would be the best course of action.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas said earlier on Friday that it was "extremely important" that Ferdinand shakes Terry's hand.

"This game is based on good values more than anything else," he said. "These players should continue to promote these good values."

However, QPR boss Mark Hughes said he would not force Ferdinand into shaking Terry's hand.

"If he feels it is not appropriate - that has to be his own decision," he said. "It won't be influenced by myself or the club."

Terry's case is due to be heard on Wednesday 1 February at Westminster Magistrates. It was switched from west London at the request of the chief magistrate because of the profile of the case.

The England captain will not be attending the hearing. His legal team will enter a not guilty plea on his behalf.