Terry case finally reaches a conclusion

by

English football is well-known for its aggressiveness and attractiveness, but its good reputation may be ruined by the ongoing John Terry affair which has been dragging on for over a year now. This is the opinion of David Bernstein, chairman of the FA.

If you follow English football closely, then you are familiar with the John Terry and Anton Ferdinand racism affair which started last season during the match between Chelsea and QPR. John Terry was handed a four-game ban and surprisingly he didn’t appeal this decision.

This has brought an end of this shameful chapter of English football and shows that the FA will certainly review all racism cases. Terry has already apologised for his behaviour, but he stated that he is deeply disappointed by the FA’s decision.

According to Bernstein, football is not a game which should have anything in common with law suits and the Terry affair has certainly had a negative impact on the English game. The FA is doing its best to get rid of racism and through the years they’ve launched many anti-racism campaigns. The Terry affair had many consequences – the resignation of former England coach Fabio Capello is one of the most notable examples.

Bernstein says: “Terry has been sanctioned and I’m glad that this case is closed. The Chelsea player apologised for his behaviour and this should be the end of this matter. We have learned a lot from this case.”

The late decision was criticised by many people, but Bernstein rejected this notion, stating: “This was maybe one of the most important cases in the history of English football and we had to be certain that every evidence and opinion has been reviewed.

We could have finished the case much earlier, but considering the impact it can have on individuals and families, we decided to take the necessary time and carefully review the facts before coming up with a final decision.”

Ashley Cole takes to Twitter to rant about the FA

by

Ashley Cole, the Chelsea and England defender, has taken to Twitter to vent his anger after doubts were cast over the viability of the statement he gave supporting John Terry over the alleged racial abuse aimed at Anton Ferdinand. In a charming turn of phrase, Cole called the FA a ‘bunch of t—s’ for implying that he could be lying.

His outburst was the response to a report being published that questioned the statement Cole made which supported Terry’s version of event during the hearing of the former captain of England which took place last week. Cole’s tirade took place the day after he had been named in the England squad for the crucial World Cup qualifying matches against San Marino at home, and away in Poland.

It rounds off what has been an exceptionally busy week for Roy Hodgson, the England manager, which included an apology to Rio Ferdinand, the Man Utd defender after discussing his international prospects with a complete stranger on the London Underground. Just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse up pops Cole and his rant, throwing his own participation in the qualifiers into serious doubt.

Terry was cleared back in July at Westminster Magistrates Court of a racially aggravated public order offence, which was partly due to the testimony given by Cole, his team mate at both club and country level. The FA commission has since, however, found discrepancies in the initial statement which Cole gave in an FA interview regarding what he heard Terry say to Ferdinand compared to statements he gave later.

Cole didn’t say the word ‘black’ in the initial interview on the 28th October, but on the 3rd November David Barnard, the Chelsea club secretary, asked for the word to be inserted into Cole’s statement, this suggesting that Cole may have heard Terry use the term after all.

 

The Terry case brings other issues to the fore

by

The FA’s role as a selector of the national side, and a governing body at the same time, has been relieved by the Terry case with the captain of Chelsea claiming that conflict made it impossible for him to be selected to play for England. Many would argue that the situation is actually reversed, but since it is hard to narrow down the Wembley separation of powers this is an issue that is causing a lot of problems for the FA.

Disciplinary measures have always caused discontent among players, and therefore it is not very surprising that the Premier League has always been happy to leave these types of matters up to the FA to handle. However, over the last few years since Lord Burns first brought the topic up since 2005, there have been calls for the FA to create an independent disciplinary chapter so that there are no claims of bias.

The FA has firmly resisted this idea and it is likely that it will resist again in the Terry case although Terry will likely believe that all of the charges against him are the result of a FA agenda. David Bernstein, the Chairman, has not yet made a public comment regarding the Terry case because he does not want it to appear that he is interfering with the disciplinary hearings.

Darren Bailey, the head of governance for the FA, ultimately is the person that decided to bring charges against Terry as he was not connected to the Club England set-up.

Hodgson contradicts himself over John Terry

by

Roy Hodgson, the manager of England’s national football team, seemed to contradict himself recently in his views that football fans and players should be more Olympian in their outlook, then following that by saying that John Terry should be let off lightly after his abuse of Anton Ferdinand.

Hodgson was impressed with the way in which the Team GB athletes conducted themselves and said that the atmosphere they performed in gave mainstream sports, including football, food for thought. He saw London 2012 as a wake-up call that the hatred and abuse suffered by footballers is not necessary.

There was little abuse suffered by the Olympic athletes. It was reported that Hodgson believes the Olympic athletes set a new benchmark which should be adopted in football and other major team sports which expect to be under the spotlight.

He went on to reflect on the tribalism which is often on show during football matches and said that the public who watched the Community Day were very different to that which were in Olympic Stadium. Following his statements about how players and fans should be more Olympian he said that he hoped John Terry would be cleared of his racial abuse charge by the FA so that he would be able to play for England, thus trampling over his noble sentiments.

During July’s court case Terry was found not guilty of the charge that he racially abused Anton Ferdinand from QPR. He now faces a charge from the Football Association after he was caught on camera launching expletives and insults at Ferdinand during the game. This is something that the likes of Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah have never been accused of

Sir Alex questions FA argument

by

Sir Alex questions FA argument Sir Alex Ferguson believes that the disagreement between England manager Fabio Capello and the FA  will end up having a negative effect on the international team, unless the two parties can bury their differences and learn to work together again.

The difference of opinion stems from the FA’s decision to take the captain’s armband from Chelsea defender John Terry until the verdict in his upcoming trial is delivered. Terry faces a charge of racially abusing another defender, QPR’s Anton Ferdinand, and is set to appear in court in July.

Capello has already launched a stinging attack on the FA for taking the step, arguing that Terry is innocent until proven guilty and that the English football authorities are delivering their own justice. But the comments in the media could end up putting the England manager himself in hot water and he has been summoned to appear before the FA to explain why he so publicly disagreed with the organisation’s decision.

Other managers, including Fergie, have been weighing in on the issue, with Terry’s club manager, Andrew Villas-Boas backing Capello for taking a stand and defending one of his player’s against unfair treatment. Villas-Boas added that the England manager had the right to hold an opinion on the matter and shouldn’t be prevented from expressing that opinion by his bosses at the FA.

A meeting between Capello and the FA is set to take place this week to discuss his future as England manager and whether or not he breached his contract by criticising his employers so publicly. The FA’s main problem seems to be that Capello had not told them that he intended to give an interview on the subject to an Italian television company so they were unprepared for the subsequent media storm.

John terry, meanwhile, has been attempting to keep a low profile; his only recent statement has been to the effect that he will continue to play for England even though he is no longer allowed to wear the captain’s armband.