Terry gets 4-match ban for racial abuse

Chelsea captain John Terry was given a four-match ban by the Football Association (FA) after being found guilty of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers’ Anton Ferdinand yesterday. An FA statement said an independent regulatory commission had issued a suspension for a period of four matches and a fine of £220,000 ($356,722, 276,000 euros) pending appeal. Terry has 14 days from receiving the written reasons for the decision to lodge an appeal. The ban will not come into force until the appeals procedure is complete. In the short term, that means central defender Terry is available for European champions Chelsea’s Premier League match away to London rivals Arsenal on Saturday. Former England skipper Terry, 31, was cleared of racially abusing Ferdinand in a criminal case in July over allegations relating to the same incident, which took place during a match in October. Terry dramatically announced his retirement from international football on Sunday, the day before what turned out to be a four-day hearing started. He effectively accused the FA of forcing his hand after the governing body pressed on with charges following the court case. “I feel the FA, in pursuing charges against me where I have already been cleared in a court of law, have made my position with the national team untenable,” he said in a statement issued last week. Terry had hoped his courtroom acquittal would be the end of the matter, as the FA’s rule book states that the result of any previous legal action concerning the same matter will be “presumed to be correct.” He admitted in court that he used racist language against Ferdinand but said he was merely repeating what he believed Ferdinand had accused him of saying.