John Terry has been banned for four matches and fined £220,000 after being found guilty of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand by a Football Association independent regulatory commission.
The Chelsea skipper denied the charge but the commission ruled that
he was guilty of misconduct during Chelsea's Barclays Premier League
defeat at QPR on October 23 last year.
The 31-year-old, who on Sunday announced his retirement from
international football, can lodge an appeal against the panel's
decision.
Terry's representatives, Elite Management, said in a statement
released on his behalf: "Mr Terry is disappointed that the FA Regulatory
Commission has reached a different conclusion to the clear not guilty
verdict of a court of law.
"He has asked for the detailed written reasons of the decision and
will consider them carefully before deciding whether to lodge an
appeal."
An FA statement said: "An independent regulatory commission has today
found a charge of misconduct against John Terry proven and has issued a
suspension for a period of four matches and a fine of £220,000, pending
appeal.
"The Football Association charged Mr Terry on Friday 27 July 2012
with using abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour towards
Queens Park Rangers' Anton Ferdinand and which included a reference to
colour and/or race contrary to FA Rule E3[2] in relation to the Queens
Park Rangers FC versus Chelsea FC fixture at Loftus Road on 23 October
2011.
"The charge was the result of The FA's long-standing investigation
into this matter, which was placed on hold at the request of the Crown
Prosecution Service and Mr Terry's representatives pending the outcome
of the criminal trial.
"The decision of the Independent Regulatory Commission is as follows:
- Mr Terry be suspended from all domestic club football until such time as Chelsea's First Team have completed four competitive matches
- Fined the sum of £220,000."
"The independent regulatory commission will provide written reasons
for its decision in due course. Mr Terry has the right to appeal the
decision of the independent regulatory commission to an Appeal Board. An
appeal must be lodged within 14 days from receipt of the written
reasons for the decision.
"The penalty is suspended until after the outcome of any appeal, or
the time for appealing expires, or should Mr Terry decide not to appeal.
The reason for this is to ensure that the penalty does not take effect
before any appeal so that Mr Terry has an effective right of appeal."
The case centred around an incident during Chelsea's Barclays Premier
League defeat at QPR on October 23 last year when the pair clashed
verbally on a number of occasions.
Terry was found not guilty in Westminster Magistrates Court in July
of a racially-aggravated public order offence with the prosecution
unable to prove he had called Ferdinand a "f****** black c***" as an
insult.
Terry admitted using the words, but insisted he had only been repeating words he thought Ferdinand had accused him of saying.
Chelsea and England team-mate Ashley Cole gave evidence that helped
exonerate Terry, telling the court: "We shouldn't be sitting here".
The FA's decision to press ahead with their own charges infuriated
Terry to the extent that on the eve of the disciplinary hearing he
announced he was quitting international football with immediate effect,
saying his position was "untenable".
Terry's legal team had argued the governing body's own rules dictated
that his acquittal in court meant the case could not proceed but the FA
believed their charge was distinct from the court charge.
The panel who handed Liverpool striker Luis Suarez an eight-match ban
when they found him guilty of racially abusing Manchester United
defender Patrice Evra last season declared at that time that simply
using racist language was enough to constitute a breach of FA rules.
Chelsea issued a statement that refused to condemn the FA's verdict.
"Chelsea Football Club notes and respects today's decision by the
Football Association regarding John Terry," the statement read.
"We also recognise that John has the right to appeal that decision.
"It is therefore inappropriate for us to comment further on the matter at this time."
Terry is likely to still be available to play for Chelsea against
Arsenal on Saturday as the ban does not start until after the appeals
process has been concluded.
The defender has 14 days from the receipt of the written reasons for
the decision, and if he does appeal then that hearing may not take place
until the end of next month.
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