John Terry Facing FA Charge: Is There a Case to Answer?
John Terry has today been charged by the FA in relation to his alleged racist outburst at Anton Ferdinand. He is alleged to have called the QPR player a “f****** black c***” and will face severe disciplinary action if found guilty. The charge facing Terry is identical to the charge brought against Liverpool’s Luis Suarez after his clash with Patrice Evra. In that instance the FA found the Uruguayan guilty and he was given an eight-game ban and a fine of £40,000.
Terry was acquitted by Westminster magistrates’ court of a racially aggravated public order offence after the judge, Howard Riddle, ruled that the former England captain could not be found guilty on the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt. However, the Football Association will find Terry guilty if they can prove that he committed the offence to the civil standard of the balance of probability, as was the case in the Suarez incident.
The FA itself has come in for some criticism after making this announcement on the day of the London Olympics opening ceremony. It is thought that the FA is making an attempt to bury the controversial decision, much like it did with Luis Suarez’s racist abuse judgement which was released on New Year’s Eve. The FA is also likely to attract barbs from the footballing public if they appear to be behaving more leniently towards Terry than they did towards Luis Suarez. Many people believe that since Terry is a former England captain and is still a regular member of the starting eleven that it would be in the FA’s best interests if he escaped punishment.
John Terry released a statement in relation to the charge on Chelsea’s official website earlier today. It read:
“I deny the charge and I will be requesting the opportunity to attend the commission for a personal hearing.”
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