John Terry may face FA race case penalty

By Stephen McGinty
Published on 15/07/2012 00:00

THE Football Association is considering charging John Terry with racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, despite the Chelsea captain being cleared in court.

While Terry, 31, told the court he was merely repeating what he thought the QPR player had said to him as they exchanged insults, the English FA has a lower burden of proof which means both players could be punished for bringing the game into disrepute.

The FA has said it would study the court’s findings before deciding whether or not to bring any proceedings against them.

However Garth Crooks, a former Tottenham Hotspur player who is now a BBC presenter, believes Terry should still be charged.

He said: “I believe it was wrong of him to say these words under any circumstances – and though 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.

“If the FA don’t act on the undisputed facts, and find Terry guilty of bringing the game into disrepute, a lot of good people are saying to me that there’s no point in getting involved in the game at a senior level.”

The FA’s lower burden of proof meant that last year Liverpool’s Luis Suarez was banned for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra although the case never went to court. A spokesman said: “The FA notes the decision in the Terry case and will now seek to conclude its own inquiries.”