Ferdinand has ‘strong feelings’ on Terry case

CHELSEA refused to allow questions about the John Terry racism inquiry at last night’s press conference ahead of their Champions League game at Genk, insisting they had already said everything they wanted to on the matter.

But there was no getting away from the furore yesterday after QPR defender Anton Ferdinand revealed he had “strong feelings” following his clash with the England and Chelsea captain that has led to a Football Association investigation.

In his first public statement on the incident, Ferdinand also said he was sure the FA would carry out a “very thorough inquiry” into the matter.

Terry has denied racially abusing Ferdinand during QPR’s clash with Chelsea at Loftus Road on 23 October. On Tuesday the FA launched the investigation into Terry’s alleged racial slur and the incident has been the subject of intense media scrutiny ever since.

There had been speculation over the weekend that Ferdinand would release a statement containing his version of events, but he instead decided to keep his counsel on the matter and chose to state only that he was happy to leave the FA to take charge of the matter.

After submitting his account of the exchange with Terry, Ferdinand released the following statement: “Today I finalised my statement with the Football Association with regards to the incident that occurred last Sunday at Loftus Road in our Barclays Premier League fixture against Chelsea.

“I have very strong feelings on the matter, but in the interests of fairness and not wishing to prejudice what I am sure will be a very thorough inquiry by the FA, this will be my last comment on the subject until the inquiry is concluded.”

Terry has denied racially abusing Ferdinand, who he admitted had accused him of making a racist remark, but insisted his own response was actually a denial and not racist in any way.

Both players returned to action at the weekend, with Terry captaining the Blues to defeat against Arsenal, and Ferdinand playing for QPR in Sunday’s 3-1 loss at Tottenham.

Ferdinand received high praise from Neil Warnock on Sunday for the way he has handled himself throughout the saga, and the defender returned the compliment yesterday, thanking his manager and the club’s hierarchy for their support. He added in his statement: “I would like to thank the club, Tony Fernandes, Amit Bhatia, Neil Warnock, the supporters and my fellow professionals for their unwavering support.”

While Terry travelled with the Chelsea squad to Belgium, it remains to be see whether he plays this evening having been rested for the match against the same opponents two weeks earlier.