John Terry racially abuses Anton Ferdinand ??

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed they have received a complaint from a member of the public over alleged racist abuse by Chelsea and England captain John Terry.

Officers are now assessing the situation relating to allegations Terry racially abused Anton Ferdinand in the Premier League match between QPR and Chelsea at Loftus Road on Sunday.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “We can confirm police have been notified of an incident on Sunday, October 23 involving alleged racial abuse. This is currently being assessed by officers from Hammersmith and Fulham.”

It comes amid reports that Ferdinand is giving serious consideration to making a formal complaint against Terry. Ferdinand, brother of England vice-captain Rio, will meet with QPR manager Neil Warnock and an advisor at the club's Harlington training ground on Tuesday lunchtime before making a decision.

Terry, who categorically denies the claims and has the full backing of Chelsea, has vowed to clear his name, telling the Daily Mail: “I will do whatever it takes to clear my name and I don’t have anything to hide. I’m not taking that level of abuse.

“Anton and I spoke for 10 minutes in the dressing room after the game and there is no issue between us. It’s finished.”

The complaint to the police revolves around an incident late in QPR's 1-0 victory over their west London rivals. Videos circulated on the internet on Sunday night which showed Terry appearing to mouth the words “you f****** black c***” towards Ferdinand.

Terry does not deny using the words, but he insists they were taken out of context as part of a longer sentence because he thought Ferdinand had accused him of making a racist remark.

Terry, 30, put out a statement on Sunday stating he had spoken to Ferdinand after the match and “there was no problem” between the pair. However, Ferdinand is yet to make a public response to Terry's version of events.

In his statement, Terry said: "I am disappointed that people have leaped to the wrong conclusions about the context of what I was seen to be saying to Anton Ferdinand.

"I thought Anton was accusing me of using a racist slur against him. I responded aggressively, saying that I never used that term.

“I would never say such a thing, and I am saddened that people would think so. I have known Anton for a long time and spoke to him about it after the game and there was no problem between us.

"I congratulated him on their win. He has not accused me of any wrongful remark.

"It was clear it was all a misunderstanding at the time. After the result, I am saddened to be dealing with these wrongful allegations.

"I am the proud captain of one of the most internationally diverse teams in the Premier League and I absolutely believe that there is no place for racism in sport and indeed in any walk of life."

ANTON FERDINAND will tell the FA's probe into the Loftus Road race row that he does not agree with John Terry's account of what happened.
The FA yesterday agreed to launch an investigation into the bust-up, after Ferdinand gave his version of events to QPR boss Neil Warnock and FA officials.

Ferdinand was said to be 'stunned' when he studied England captain Terry's account of the controversy.

Internet sites had shown footage of Terry appearing to mouth 'f****** black ****' during Sunday's fiery clash between QPR and Chelsea.

Later that evening, Terry issued a statement claiming he was simply responding to Ferdinand, who, according to the Blues defender, had asked 'Did you just call me a f****** black ****?' Terry claimed he was simply yelling back that he had not and that the TV footage had missed out the full sentence and misconstrued its meaning.

Terry insisted he had known Ferdinand a long time and would never do such a thing.

He also stated he had met Ferdinand afterwards to clear up the situation and everything was 'cool' between the pair.

That did not tally, though, with Ferdinand's account of what occurred.

He admitted the two players had been winding each other up. But he insisted he never heard Terry mouth anything racist at him and that the pair never had any conversation along those lines during the match.

The first he knew about the race issue was when Ashley Cole came into the QPR dressing room and told Ferdinand that Terry wanted to talk to him.

A Rangers source revealed: "Anton went to see JT, who explained some video footage had appeared on the internet that made it look as though he had said something racist.

"JT strongly denied saying such a thing and said to Anton 'Everything's cool between us, isn't it?'

"Anton, who at that stage didn't really know what JT was talking about, said everything was fine and that there was no problem."

Yet that situation changed when Ferdinand switched on his mobile phone and saw the video footage for himself.

He was then totally bewildered when he saw Terry's statement claiming the pair had been discussing it on the pitch. A QPR statement yesterday made it clear that the club backed Ferdinand's account of what had happened.

Chairman Tony Fernandes commented: "QPR does not condone racism in any way, shape or form.

"As a club, we will provide our players with our unequivocal support whenever alleged incidents like this occur.

"The club has, and will continue to support, Kick It Out's 'One Game, One Community' initiative, football's equality and inclusion campaign."

Anti-racism group Kick it Out admitted it was disappointed to hear of the charge, especially given that it comes so soon after Patrice Evra accused Luis Suarez of racism on the pitch during Manchester United's 1-1 draw at Liverpool 10 days ago.

Kick it Out chairman Lord Herman Ouseley said: "It is of great regret that in Kick It Out's 'One Game, One Community' weeks of action, backed by all 92 professional clubs, two high-profile incidents of alleged racist abuse have taken place. This is worrying and potentially very damaging. What happens at the top end of the game has an impact at grass roots level and at parks pitches across the country.

"Kick It Out condemns discrimination in any form and hopes matters are investigated properly.

"In the meantime, the work Kick It Out does with groups and individuals, including players and fans at professional and community level, will continue in stamping out discrimination and unacceptable behaviour in all its forms."

Blackburn striker Jason Roberts has backed Ferdinand's calls for a race probe, saying: "Is racial abuse something that used to happen all the time? Absolutely.


"In my 14-year career, I've had it numerous times. More times than I can count. It has certainly slowed down recently. But for people to say they can't believe this has happened, let me tell them this has happened throughout my career at all levels of the game.

"The battle isn't won. People still need educating.

"If it can be proven people have been doing this and it's caught on camera, they have to be punished.

"We cannot allow for this to be seen to be OK.

"My uncle Cyrille Regis, who played in the 70s and 80s, put up with disgusting abuse and just dealt with it like I just dealt with it.

"I think in this day and age we need to change that. It's not acceptable.

"Some people think they do stuff like this to put you off your game and that it's fair game.

"They say 'I'm not really like that, some of my best friends are black'.

"Well it's not good enough because there are kids watching and people in the crowd."

"we talked on the phone and everything is settled and great"

"I didn’t know racism still existed in football until last weekend.

"I thought we were past all that here. I had no idea it had happened until I left the ground. It was pretty shocking. It’s crazy, I can’t believe it."

He added: "I don’t need to say anything, it’s all on YouTube, everyone can see what he said.

"What do you think he said? Look, it’s with the FA now."