Ferdinand reveals hate campaign over Terry case

LONDON (AFP) –

Queens Park Rangers’ English player Anton Ferdinand, pictured in January 2012, has said he was subjected to a hate campaign in connection with a racist abuse case that saw a Football Association disciplinary panel ban Chelsea captain John Terry for four games.

Anton Ferdinand has revealed he was subjected to a hate campaign in connection with a racist abuse case that saw a Football Association disciplinary panel ban Chelsea captain John Terry for four games.

In his first comments after Terry was found guilty, the Queens Park Rangers defender said on Twitter he had received abuse on the micro-blogging site since Thursday’s ruling.

His family have also reportedly been targeted by hate mail since the controversial incident in October last year, which led to Terry being charged and later acquitted in a criminal case of a racially aggravated public order offence.

“On a serious note people need 2 read the facts before they send stupid tweets 2 me with liar and grass in it,” Ferdinand wrote.

Terry was cleared of criminal charges in July, although he admitted in court he had used a racist slur against Ferdinand but said he was merely repeating what he believed Ferdinand had accused him of saying.

Despite the court verdict, the FA still found him guilty of a similar charge with their disciplinary process using a “balance of probabilities” burden of proof rather than the English criminal standard of “beyond reasonable doubt”.

Last year, the separate FA panel that found Liverpool‘s Luis Suarez guilty of racially abusing Manchester United‘s Patrice Evra said simply using racist language was enough to fall foul of the governing body’s rules, regardless of intent or context.

Terry, who has consistently denied all charges against him, is considering whether to appeal the FA panel’s decision.

Meanwhile Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson suggested Terry ought to think it “lenient” he’d only received a four-game ban after Suarez was given an eight-match suspension last season.

“There is a danger of it resurrecting itself because it has been going on so long,” Ferguson said.

“But the fact he got a four-game ban, he may consider that is quite lenient considering Luis Suarez got eight.

“It is time to move on and so should the game.”

Meanwhile Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of England’s Professional Footballers’ Association, and Premier League counterpart Richard Scudamore both questioned why it had taken so long for the FA to reach a decision.

“Almost 12 months on and the John Terry case was still not heard by the FA until the day after Luis Suarez shook hands with Patrice Evra at Anfield,” Taylor said Friday.

“Such a delay has allowed the matter to fester and cause divisions in the football family which will take a long time to heal — if they ever do.”

The FA’s disciplinary process was put on hold at the request of prosecutors so as not to prejudice court proceedings.

But Scudamore told the Daily Telegraph: “If the argument is that these (charges) are completely separate, irrespective of what the courts decide, if football’s test is different, why can’t we decide (the ruling) if it is a completely different test?

“I don’t quite know why one has to wait for the other if the tests are completely different.

“It would have been much better for everybody, whether the outcome is positive or negative, if it was done quickly.”

Former England captain Terry, 31, retired from international football on Sunday, on the eve of the FA hearing, saying officials had made his position with the national side “untenable”.

He is though continuing his club career and the centre-half is available for Chelsea’s Premier League match against Arsenal on Saturday, as he has 14 days from receiving written reasons for the panel’s decision to decide if he wants to appeal.

Terry will continue to be free to play until any appeal process is completed.