FA slam John Terry's racist abuse defence

The panel found there was "no credible basis'' for Terry's defence that the words "f****** black c***'' were used as a forceful rejection, but said "Mr Terry is not a racist"

John Terry made up his claim that he was challenging Anton Ferdinand when he used the words "f****** black c***". And the Chelsea skipper was accused of potentially conspiring with Ashley Cole to make up their counter-claims against Ferdinand, who has been subjected to "deplorable and unlawful abuse" from some Blues fans. That savage ruling on the former England skipper was the crux of the matter which landed Terry with a four-match ban and record £220,000 fine. Eight days after the Wembley hearing, the official written reasons of the three-man Independent Regulatory Commission headed by barrister Craig Moore were published today. Revealing that Terry chose not to give any verbal evidence in his own behalf at the hearing - which meant he could not be cross-examined - the Commission clearly backed the doubts over Chelsea captain's evidence as expressed by District Judge Howard Riddle following the player's acquittal at Westminster Magistrates Court in July. And indeed the panel - completed by former Blackburn winger-turned lawyer Stuart Ripley and FA councillor Maurice Armstrong - gave a damning assessment of Terry's behaviour and attempts to have the charge disproved, citing his red card during the Champions League semi-final game at Barcelona to justify the view that he was a player subject to loss of self-control. In the reasons, the Commission starts by addressing Terry's courtroom claim that he believed - erroneously, as he conceded in court - that Ferdinand had accused him of using the three words which landed him with the misconduct charge.

While the Commission finds that Terry was subjected to "extreme provocation" by the "wholly inappropriate behaviour" of the QPR man, it states: "Mr Ferdinand did not accuse Mr. Terry of racially abusing him and did not use the word 'black' or any words that could have been heard, understood, or misunderstood by anyone to have any kind of reference to, or context with, skin colour, race or ethnicity. "We are driven to conclude not just that it is 'highly unlikely' that Mr. Ferdinand accused Mr. Terry on the pitch of calling him a 'black c***', but that he did not. "Mr Terry did not hear, and could not have believed, understood or misunderstood Mr. Ferdinand to have used the word 'black', or any word(s) that might have suggested that he was accusing Mr Terry of racially abusing him." The Commission dismissed Ashley Cole's courtroom evidence in support of Terry, adding that there were "further aspects" of the Chelsea defender's defence which it found "improbable, implausible and contrived". Instead, the panel said it was satisfied that Terry had used the phrase "as an insult" because he was "angry" over being taunted by Ferdinand, the way the match had gone and the likelihood that Chelsea were going to lose. And while neither Terry not Cole gave evidence, the Commission looked at the left-back's courtroom insistence that he had been told by his captain that he had been accused of racial abuse on the pitch by Ferdinand and stated: "We are driven to find, on the balance of probabilities, that even if such an exchange took place (as to which we have some doubt), it was contrived by Mr Terry. "The Commission is quite satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that there is no credible basis for Mr Terry's defence that his use of the words were directed at Ferdinand by way of forceful rejection and/or inquiry. Instead, we are quite satisfied, and find on the balance of probabilities, that the offending words were said by way of insult." Explaining the sanction, which caused anger on Merseyside from Liverpool fans pointing to the discrepancy between Terry's punishment and the eight-game ban handed out to Luis Suarez when he was found to have racially abused Patrice Evra seven times, the Commission added: "It is accepted by everyone involved in the criminal and disciplinary proceedings that Mr Terry is not a racist. "In contrast with a previous high profile FA disciplinary case involving racial abuse, Mr. Terry's racist insult was issued only once. "Although once is clearly once too many, the Commission accepts that it was said in the heat of the moment. Had it been said more than once, the entry point penalty would have applied to successive insults." Chelsea would not comment on the contents of the written reasons. A Chelsea spokesman said: "As we said last week we recognise that John has the right to appeal. "In view of this it would be inappropriate for us to comment further on the matter at this time." Under FA rules, Terry has 14 days to decide whether to accept the fine and ban or appeal to a second FA commission. The findings, though, could hardly be more devastating.