John Terry vs Anton Ferdinand @ Westminster Magistrates Court, London

[1983-2011]

John Terry used a racist obscenity against Anton Ferdinand after taunts about his alleged affair with a team-mate's ex-partner, a court has heard. The 31-year-old Chelsea and England footballer is charged with a racially-aggravated public order offence - an allegation he denies. It relates to a comment allegedly made to the QPR defender when the teams played at Loftus Road last October. The trial, set to last five days, is at Westminster Magistrates' Court. If found guilty, the maximum sentence Mr Terry could receive is a Ž£2,500 fine. Chelsea captain Mr Terry was allowed out of the dock into the well of the court to view footage of the alleged insult. 'Bad breath' The court heard that Mr Terry maintains he was only sarcastically repeating words that Mr Ferdinand wrongly thought he had used, during the match which was broadcast to millions of people. Opening the prosecution, Duncan Penny said: "The Crown's case is that the words were abusive and insulting in a straightforward sense." He added that a racially abusive obscenity had been uttered "demonstrating hostility based on Mr Ferdinand's membership of a racial group". "They were uttered by the defendant in response to goading by Mr Ferdinand on the issue of his extra-marital affair, rather than by way of exaggerated and instant querying of a perceived false allegation," he said. Two television clips and footage that had not been broadcast of the incident, which would normally be used for training purposes, were shown to the court. The court was told that Mr Ferdinand said something about the Chelsea player's alleged affair and made fist gestures, before Mr Terry responded. Chelsea team-mates John Mikel Obi and Ashley Cole were nearby when insults were traded, but they will not be called as witnesses as part of the prosecution case. 'Strong offence' In a statement to the Football Association five days after the incident, Mr Terry said that he and Mr Ferdinand had been exchanging "verbals" and he had made a gesture to imply Mr Ferdinand had bad breath. He said: "We're still having a, sort of, ding-dong, if you like," adding that was when Mr Ferdinand had used a racially abusive obscenity. He added that he had taken "quite a strong offence" to Mr Ferdinand's alleged words. The England defender said he was not offended by the taunts about the alleged affair with Wayne Bridge's ex-girlfriend, because "it's not the first time I've heard it, so it's with a pinch of salt a little bit now". Police questioned the Chelsea player under caution in November 2011 and a file on the matter was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service at the beginning of December. The decision to investigate the former England captain was taken when police received a complaint from a member of the public after the Premier League match at QPR's home ground. As a summary offence under the Crime and Disorder Act, the trial will be fully dealt with in a magistrates' court, with no jury, and is being heard by Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle. Mr Terry, whose Chelsea team won the Champions League and the FA Cup in May, was part of the England side that reached the quarter finals of Euro 2012 last month. Anton Ferdinand has played for West Ham, Sunderland and QPR and is the brother of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry's England team-mate and defensive partner for the national side. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18760180

[adi B]

screwed

[1983-2011]

screwed

if terry gets convicted, the maximum sentence will be Ž£2500 from the state, it'll depend on FA and Chelsea F.C. on how they want to punish him