Ferdinand talks tough over racism row
Published 22:31 31/10/11 By Darren Lewis
Anton Ferdinand has warned John Terry that he has made his “strong feelings” about their race row clear to the FA.
The QPR defender, backed by his Manchester United and England defender brother Rio, wants action from the governing body over the “f***** black c**t” comments allegedly made, and then broadcast on YouTube, by the Chelsea and England skipper.
Ferdinand said in a statement: “Today (Monday 31st October 2011), I finalised my statement with the Football Association with regards to the incident that occurred last Sunday at Loftus Road in our Barclays Premier League fixture against Chelsea.
“I have very strong feelings on the matter. But in the interests of fairness and not wishing to prejudice what I am sure will be a very thorough enquiry by the FA, this will be my last comment on the subject until the enquiry is concluded.”
Terry, who is in Belgium with the Chelsea squad for Tuesday night’s Champions League tie against Genk, denies racism.
Ferdinand’s submission to the FA is understood to contain 16 points over two and a half pages, in which he calls on the FA to establish the truth about the incident.
It is believed he has told the FA that he and Terry carried on a verbal battle throughout the match, but that at no stage did he hear a racial taunt.
He has also made it clear that he disagrees completely with Terry’s explanation for the YouTube footage, that shows the Blues skipper using the words “f****** black c**t”.
The Ferdinand’s camp are also understood to be monitoring the comments of Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas, after the Portuguese angered them by backing Terry with the FA investigation incomplete.
Meanwhile, Ferdinand’s team-mates have urged him not to let the affair grind him down.
QPR striker Jay Bothroyd said: “If you let them get to you, you can end up going on the pitch and playing rubbish.
“People deal with things in different ways. But Anton has been top class.
"What happened last week was a bit of a downer. But if he dwells on that he will do a disservice to himself.
“Anton is very professional and very focused. He can’t dwell on that negativity, he just needs to go out there and play as well as he can do.”
