A magistrate has cleared Chelsea captain John Terry of racially abusing
an opponent during a Premier League match after one of the most
high-profile trials involving a footballer.
The case led to Terry being stripped of the England captaincy by the
Football Association ahead of the European Championship and the
departure of coach Fabio Capello who disagreed with the decision.
After hearing four days of evidence at a London court, Chief Magistrate
Howard Riddle decided on Friday that Terry was not guilty of a racially
aggravated public order offence in a confrontation with Queens Park
Rangers player Anton Ferdinand during the match in October.
Terry maintained he only used an offensive term sarcastically to counter
the obscenity he claims Ferdinand was accusing him of using.
“It is highly unlikely that Mr. Ferdinand accused Mr. Terry on the pitch
of calling him a black (expletive),” Riddle wrote in his judgment.
“However I accept that it is possible that Mr. Terry believed at the
time, and believes now, that such an accusation was made.
“The prosecution evidence as to what was said by Mr. Ferdinand at this
point is not strong. Mr. (Ashley) Cole (the Chelsea defender) gives
corroborating (although far from compelling corroborating) evidence on
this point. It is therefore possible that what he said was not intended
as an insult, but rather as a challenge to what he believed had been
said to him.”
There were cheers in Court One at Westminster Magistrates’ Court from members of Terry’s family after the verdict.
Prosecutors accepted the decision.
“The very serious allegation at the heart of this case was one of racial
abuse,” Alison Saunders, Chief Crown Prosecutor for London, said. “It
was our view that this was not ‘banter’ on the football pitch and that
the allegation should be judged by a court.
“The Chief Magistrate agreed that Mr. Terry had a case to answer, but
having heard all of the evidence he acquitted Mr. Terry of a racially
aggravated offence.”