Terry Admits Abusing Women But Denies Racial Abuse Against Ferdinand
Former Captain of the Three Lions, the National football team of England and the Captain of Chelsea football club, John Terry has denied he ‘snapped’ during confrontation with Anton Ferdinand of Queens Park Rangers
City during a match that involved the two clubs in October, 2011.
Terry told Westminster Magistrates’ Court that he was never guilty of any racial abuse against anyone even though he had been subjected to so much abuse over an alleged affair with a former team-mate’s girlfriend. He said he has put the insults and abuse behind him wondering why he would now snap at Ferdinand over his taunt on the over-celebrated incident.
At the court sitting, a recording of Terry’s interview with the Football Association official Jenny Kennedy was played where Terry insisted he had over 2,000 people who could attest to it that he was not a racist.
Duncan Penny, the prosecuted accused Terry of having “snapped” at Ferdinand over a sexual taunt. Adding that Terry called Ferdinand a “f****** black c***”. Mr Penny said: “The truth of the matter is you are not a racist but you used racist language. You snapped. It was instinctive. You were fed up with people abusing you over the issue with your wife.”
In reference to that alleged affair with Vanessa Perroncel, former partner of his ex-Chelsea team-mate Wayne Bridge, Terry replied: “I didn’t snap. It was almost two years ago. I have heard it hundreds of times, a million times … I would have snapped long before if that was the case. I have had 78,000 people in a stadium chanting it at me.”
There was a culture among top footballers that they would find, Mr Penny said, “a point of vulnerability” with an opponent and then direct abuse at him. “When you abuse each other you use common-or-garden swear words, c***, p****, f*** … or other things, ‘You are ugly’ or ‘You are fat’,” Mr Penny said. “Comments about mothers?” Terry replied: “I have had that”.
Penny said although there were “no-go areas” players considered inappropriate for abuse, “wives and girlfriends” were fair game.
Terry admitted that “girls are part and parcel” of the abuse exchanged by players on the pitch but said he was “in shock” when he realised Ferdinand was accusing him of having racially abused him. He said he repeated the abusive term back to Ferdinand in disbelief at the accusation.
He also said in a statement to police read to the court that he had worked for charities established by former Chelsea players Didier Drogba, from the Ivory Coast and Marcel Desailly, from France, to do work in Africa. “My commitment to these projects demonstrates I am not a racist,” he said.
For the defence, Mr George Carter-Stephenson QC said that Mr Ferdinand was an “unreliable witness” who had failed to mention his abuse of Mr Terry in his original statement to the FA. Detective Constable David Doherty said that Mr Ferdinand lived an “unstructured life” away from football and proved difficult to contact. Mr Terry denies the charge. The case continues.