THE TRIAL OF Chelsea defender John Terry over his alleged racist abuse of QPR centre-back Anton Ferdinand will commence this morning.
The comments, which the former England captain strenuously denies making, were allegedly made during the Premier League fixture between the two west London rivals at Loftus Road in October 2011, which the QPR won 1-0.
Terry was subsequently charged with a racially aggravated public order offence, to which the 31-year-old’s legal representatives responded with a not guilty plea in February.
However, if convicted, Terry faces a maximum penalty of a £2,500 fine for an offence that has already seen him lose the England armband, an episode that directly led to the resignation of Fabio Capello. The trial’s start date was delayed until after Euro 2012 as a number of Chelsea players, who are giving evidence on behalf of Terry, would have been unable to attend. The trial, taking place at Westminster Magistrates, is expected to last five days.
The Football Association banned Liverpool’s Luis Suarez for eight games and fined the striker 40,000 pounds last season after he was found guilty of misconduct, regarding ‘using insulting words’ towards Manchester United’s Patrice Evra.
