'Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism and Me' - What was said on the pitch and what's been said since
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Updated 01/12/2020 at 17:23 GMT
A new documentary has aired in which Anton Ferdinand has spoken about his experiences of racism in football, and it has also opened up for further discussion a Football Association charge and a court case against John Terry from almost a decade ago. Kick It Out chairman Sanjay Bhandari says he thinks Ferdinand was "let down by the game of football".
Chelsea's John Terry (left) and Queens Park Rangers' former player Anton Ferdinand (right) (PA Photos)
Image credit: Eurosport
WHAT WAS THE JOHN TERRY CASE ABOUT?
John Terry was accused of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand during the Premier League match between Chelsea and QPR in October 2011.
He was found guilty by the Football Association of using the phrase "a f****** black c***”.
He was charged with a racially aggravated public order offence.
WHAT DID JOHN TERRY SAY IN COURT?
He vehemently denied the charges. He was found not guilty in court but was banned for four matches by the FA, stripped of the England captaincy and fined £220,000.
WHO ELSE GAVE EVIDENCE?
Team-mate Ashley Cole gave evidence in support of Terry, much to the disgust of the Ferdinand family, who counted him as a family friend.
In court, Cole said that Terry asked Ferdinand to come to the Chelsea dressing room after the game, and after an exchange of questions the two had shaken hands.
Cole described Terry as an "inspirational captain", and "cool, calm and collected".
WHY IS IT IN THE NEWS AGAIN?
The BBC have aired a documentary about racism in football, 'Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism and Me'.
Terry did not participate in the documentary, with his representatives saying he had moved on with his life and did not want to reopen a case on television that was decided in court.
WHAT HAVE PEOPLE SAID ABOUT THE PROGRAMME?
Kick It Out's head of development Troy Townsend was in the programme and told Ferdinand that rules prevented his organisation from speaking to an alleged victim while a case was active, adding that "the game has never protected the victim" and that he would fear for his job if he criticised the FA.
The FA, however, responded to this by making a statement that read: "We can confirm that there are no rules or inferences in the relationship which prevent Kick It Out from contacting victims of discrimination.
"On the contrary, the FA's written policy is to actively encourage the involvement of Kick It Out so that they can support victims of discrimination during and after the FA's disciplinary process.
"In alleging that an individual at Kick It Out fears losing their job if they criticise footballing authorities, this is simply without foundation."
Kick It Out chairman Sanjay Bhandari says he thinks Ferdinand was "let down by the game of football".
"The abiding feeling I was left with was one of profound sadness," he said. "Sadness at the visible and deep impact that the incident had on Anton and his family. And sadness that, as a game, collectively, we let him down. I hope that the process of creating the documentary helps Anton to reach closure on this painful episode in his life.
"I was heartened to see his interviews indicating that he wished to use his experience positively to help the football family, including Kick It Out, to learn from this experience. If the offer stands, we would love to take him up on that and listen to his views. We need to ensure that, collectively, football learns the lessons from this.
WHAT ELSE HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT THE INCIDENT?
Rio Ferdinand wrote in his autobiography: "As England captain and my centre-back partner he could have saved everyone a lot of pain by admitting immediately he used the word in the heat of the moment, but was no racist. I think that's probably what happened and what the truth is. Anton and I would've accepted that."
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