John Terry over his alleged racist
abuse of QPR centre-back Anton
Ferdinand is underway at
Westminster Magistrates Court.
Terry is charged with a racially
aggravated public order offence,
a charge he denies, during a
Premier League game in October
of last year at Loftus Road.
The court heard that the pair
traded insults during the match
and that Terry used a racist
obscenity against Ferdinand in
response to taunts about his
alleged affair with a team-mate's
ex-partner.
The court was also told that the
Chelsea captain insists he was
only sarcastically repeating
words that Ferdinand wrongly
thought he had used, during the
match.
The prosecution opened their
case by saying: "The Crown's
case is that the words were
abusive and insulting in a
straightforward sense.
"They were uttered by the
defendant in response to
goading by Mr Ferdinand on the
issue of his extra-marital affair,
rather than by way of
exaggerated and instant
querying of a perceived false
allegation.
"The Crown alleges that the
defendant, most probably in
response to physical gestures
being made by Mr Ferdinand
which the defendant understood
to refer to the well-publicised
allegation of an extra-marital
affair with a team-mate's wife,
shouted at Mr Ferdinand.
"They were uttered by the
defendant in response to
goading by Mr Ferdinand on the
issue of his extra-marital affair,
rather than by way of
exaggerated and instant
querying of a perceived false
allegation."
Terry was allowed to view
footage of the alleged incident
and footage, including previously
unbroadcast pictures, which
were also shown to the court.
Meanwhile, the court was also
told that Chelsea team-mates
Ashley Cole and John Obi Mikel
were in the vicinity of the alleged
incident, but will not be called up
as witnesses for the prosecution.
After the incident had taken
place Terry gave a statement to
the Football Association saying
the taunts about his alleged
extra-marital affair did not
bother him as: "it's not the first
time I've heard it, so it's with a
pinch of salt a little bit now".
He also said that: "We're still
having a, sort of, ding-dong, if
you like" but added that "I take
quite a strong offence" at the
allegation of racial abuse.
In a statement to police in
November, Terry also said:
"Whilst footballers are used to
industrial language, using racist
terms is completely unacceptable
whatever [the] situation.
"I was completely taken aback by
this remark as I have never been
accused of something like that
and I did not take his remark
lightly at all, and took strong
offence to his suggestion."
If convicted, Terry faces a
maximum penalty of a £2,500
fine for an offence that has
already seen him lose the
England armband, an episode
that directly led to the
resignation of Fabio Capello.
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