John Terry found not guilty of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/jul/13/john-terry-anton-ferdinand-racial-abuse-trial

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The former England captain John Terry has been cleared of racially abusing fellow footballer Anton Ferdinand in a no-blame verdict that ruled the incident could have been down to a misunderstanding.

The Chelsea captain, who had denied calling Ferdinand a "fucking black cunt", was found not guilty at Westminster magistrates court following a five-day trial.

His head dropped as the verdict was given and relatives in the public gallery cheered. Outside the central London court there were more cheers and some heckling from a crowd as Terry – who had faced a maximum £2,500 fine but immeasurable damage to career and reputation if convicted – left in a taxi, making no comment.

His lawyer, Dan Morrison, said Terry had "consistently explained his position to the FA, the police and to the court. He did not racially abuse Mr Ferdinand and the court has accepted this."

Terry had denied a racially aggravated public order offence and making the comments during a heated altercation with the QPR defender Ferdinand, 27, following a penalty appeal in the final minutes of a west London derby between the teams at Loftus Road on 23 October 2011.

His case was that he was sarcastically repeating back words that he believed the QPR player had accused him of saying in an argument following a gesture made by Ferdinand.

Delivering his judgment, chief magistrate Howard Riddle said: "Weighing all the evidence together, I think it is highly unlikely that Mr Ferdinand accused Mr Terry on the pitch of calling him a black cunt. However I accept that it is possible that Mr Terry believed at the time, and believes now, that such an accusation was made.

"It is therefore possible that what he said was not intended as an insult, but rather as a challenge to what he believed had been said to him. In those circumstances, there being a doubt, the only verdict the court can record is one of not guilty."

Riddle said there was no doubt that Terry had uttered the words when he was angry. But it was crucial that nobody gave evidence that they had heard what Terry had said – "or more importantly how he said it" – and "nobody has been able to show that he is lying". He found Terry "a credible witness".

The trial exposed a culture of swearing and abuse among Premier League players. Lord Ouseley, chair of Kick It Out, football's equality and inclusion campaign, told Sky News: "Clearly we are in a situation now where the regulatory body for football will have to now look at what action it has to take. There is only one regulatory body for football and it's not the courts."

Asked if the verdict might dissuade players who had been racially abused from coming forward in future, he said: "There is a culture in the dressing room which has to be tackled, people are very fearful and do not come forward.

"We've got to work hard now to try and establish some credibility about the complaints' processes to ensure they are dealt with properly."

The Football Association said it had "noted the decision in the John Terry case" and would "now seek to conclude its own inquiries".

The former Tottenham Hotspur footballer and BBC presenter Garth Crooks, writing in the Guardian, said Terry should still face action from the FA.

"I believe it was wrong of him to say these words under any circumstances – and though Terry has been found not to have committed a criminal offence, the FA must now decide whether the former England captain should be charged for contravening its own rules."

The trial heard that Terry's remarks followed a gesture by Ferdinand goading the Chelsea left-back over an alleged affair with the ex-girlfriend of former team-mate Wayne Bridge, Vanessa Perroncel. In court, Ferdinand was challenged over words he used with the gesture.

The judge said Ferdinand had not accused Terry of racially abusing him on the pitch. Ferdinand was "a believable witness" and although there were discrepancies in his evidence, Riddle said that "to a large extent this is what you would expect from a truthful witness". Words could be "misremembered" in circumstances where "the result of the game was more important that any individual argument between two players."

Riddle also judged discrepancies in Terry's evidence as "understandable and natural".

Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said the club was "pleased that John can now put his mind to football and go back to training and do what he's done for many years."

Ferdinand's parents, Janice Lavender and Julian Ferdinand, who had sat in court every day of the trial, left without commenting.

The trial was told a police investigation was launched after a complaint from an off-duty police officer watching the game on Sky. Ferdinand, who only learned of the incident after watching a YouTube clip following the game, had not made a complaint, and believed the FA should have dealt with the matter, not the courts.

Riddle acknowledged Ferdinand was a "reluctant" witness, and agreed with the prosecution it was "brave" of him to give evidence in court.

The Crown Prosecution Service defended its decision to bring the case: "The very serious allegation at the heart of this case was one of racial abuse."

Alison Saunders, chief crown prosecutor for London, added: "It was our view that this was not 'banter' on the football pitch and that the allegation should be judged by a court."