LONDON: Chelsea captain John Terry was given a four-match ban by the Football Association (FA) after being found guilty of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers’ Anton Ferdinand yesterday.
An FA statement said an independent regulatory commission had issued a suspension for a period of four matches and a fine of £220,000 ($356,722, 276,000 euros) pending appeal.
Terry has 14 days from receiving the written reasons for the decision to lodge an appeal.
The ban will not come into force until the appeals procedure is complete.
In the short term, that means central defender Terry is available for European champions Chelsea’s Premier League match away to London rivals Arsenal on Saturday.
Former England skipper Terry, 31, was cleared of racially abusing Ferdinand in a criminal case in July over allegations relating to the same incident, which took place during a match in October. Terry dramatically announced his retirement from international football on Sunday, the day before what turned out to be a four-day hearing started.
He effectively accused the FA of forcing his hand after the governing body pressed on with charges following the court case.
“I feel the FA, in pursuing charges against me where I have already been cleared in a court of law, have made my position with the national team untenable,” he said in a statement issued last week.
Terry had hoped his courtroom acquittal would be the end of the matter, as the FA’s rule book states that the result of any previous legal action concerning the same matter will be “presumed to be correct.”
He admitted in court that he used racist language against Ferdinand but said he was merely repeating what he believed Ferdinand had accused him of saying.
John Terry gets four-match ban for racial abuse
John Terry gets four-match ban for racial abuse
Morocco coach warns of trap as they face Tanzania
RABAT: Africa Cup of Nations hosts Morocco have been warned not to get too confident about their chances in Sunday’s last-16 clash against underdogs Tanzania, with coach Walid Regragui saying lack of humility has cost them in the past.
Morocco are the top-ranked team at the tournament and runaway favorites and look to have an easy passage into the quarterfinals at the expense of Tanzania, who squeezed into the knockout stage among the four best third-placed finishers.
They did so without winning a game and their two-point haul from three Group C matches is the lowest tally of points in tournament history for a team advancing out of the first round and into the last-16.
“We hear that we are the overwhelming favorites, that we should win easily, and everyone says that if Morocco do not win, it is a failure, that if Morocco does not win easily, it is a failure,” Regragui said on Saturday.
“My job and the job of the staff and the senior players is to keep our feet on the ground and remember why Morocco has not won the Cup of Nations in 50 years.
“We have not won it because I think that at some point, we lacked humility in every competition, and we must not fall into that trap.”
Morocco’s only previous Cup of Nations success was in 1976 and in recent editions they have crashed out to unfancied opposition.
“We will keep our feet on the ground, we will respect this Tanzanian team,” the coach added.
“They are a team that is growing, they are developing their infrastructure, they are developing their league with two big clubs, and they have very good local players.
“It won’t be an easy match. We will play to our strengths so as not to give them any hope of causing an upset. There are always surprises, and it is up to us to make sure that tomorrow there is no chance for this team,” he said.
Tanzania are competing at only a fourth Cup of Nations tournament and are yet to win in 12 matches played since they first appeared at the 1980 finals.
