Football: Terry cleared of racial abuse charge

LONDON: Former England captain John Terry was found not guilty yesterday of racially abusing rival footballer Anton Ferdinand. Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle cleared the 31-year-old Chelsea skipper at the end of a five-day trial at Westminster Magistrates Court in London. He was accused of racist comments directed at Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand during a match between Chelsea and QPR on October 23 last year. Terry denied committing a racially aggravated public order offence, and told the court that he was sarcastically repeating words he thought Ferdinand had said to him. Having heard all the evidence, the chief magistrate acquitted Terry of a racially aggravated offence.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2012.