One of football’s lengthiest drawn out sagas has finally come to a conclusion.
Former England defender John Terry decided not to appeal against his four game suspension, after being found guilty by the FA in September on grounds of racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.
Ban starts immediately
Terry (pictured) had until 6pm on Thursday to decide whether to launch an appeal but has wisely decided to put an end to the matter by electing to serve the ban and the £220,000 fine handed down to him three weeks ago.
The ban starts immediately, meaning Terry will miss Saturday’s trip to Tottenham, as well as two encounters in the Premier League and Capital One Cup at home to Manchester United and the away match at Swansea City.
As this is an FA related ban, he is free to play for the Blues in the Champions League match in Ukraine next Tuesday against Shakhtar Donetsk.
In a statement released on Thursday morning on the behalf of his management company, Terry accepted the punishment although he still maintained his unhappiness at the FA’s case.
He said: “I want to apologise to everyone for the language I used in the game.
“Although I’m disappointed with the FA judgement, I accept that the language I used, regardless of the context, is not acceptable on the football field or indeed in any walk of life.
“As I stated in the criminal case, with the benefit of hindsight my language was clearly not an appropriate reaction to the situation for someone in my position.
“My response was below the level expected by Chelsea Football Club, and by me, and it will not happen again.”
The 31-year-old retired from international football duty in September just days before the verdict was handed out.
He was cleared by a Westminster Magistrates Court in July.
The case dragged on far too long
Once again, consistency within the laws of the game has to be seen as disappointing. The whole case dragged on far too long.
It is almost a year, 23 October 2011 when the incident happened in the stormy west London derby between QPR and Chelsea at Loftus Road.
This should have been dealt with in a far quicker and better manner.
Also, Luis Suarez got an eight match ban last December after the striker was found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra during a Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United.
Although these were two separate incidents of differing natures, a precedent hasn’t been followed by the FA and a four game ban seems lenient.
The fine means nothing to Terry. His contract at Stamford Bridge means it is effectively a fine of the normal club standard, which is two weeks wages.
The west Londoners were under pressure to make a statement and they have published a piece on the club’s website.
With reports of a bigger fine or even potentially being stripped of the armband by Roberto Di Matteo, the club have disciplined the defender but have decided to keep the details of its action confidential.
You can be the judge of what that actually means.
The club’s statement read: “John Terry has made the correct decision by not appealing against the FA judgment.
Below high standards
“Chelsea also appreciates, and supports, John’s full apology for the language he used.
“The club firmly believes such language is not acceptable and fell below the standards expected of John as a Chelsea player.”
What could be more interesting is that in the club’s official charter, it says: “Chelsea FC practices a zero tolerance policy towards discrimination.
“National anti-racism campaigns have been fully endorsed by the club.”
Surely, zero tolerance would mean severe consequences for Terry. The punishment that they have handed out looks to be something we will struggle to find out.
So, it brings a conclusion to one of the messiest sagas in the English game in living memory.
John Terry’s reputation and legacy have taken a severe bruising. As for the FA, the length of fine and punishment plus the length of the case being dragged out has not been good.
You can add their name to the list of governing bodies that should be named and shamed this week.
It has been a forgettable week in the game of football for a number of issues and the main problem of racist abuse in football urgently needs to be tackled by all.
It is about time the Terry/Ferdinand saga was now consigned to the history books and the real talking returns to stunning on-the-field action.
By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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