Anton Ferdinand challenges John Terry to face-to-face TV confrontation to discuss the Chelsea legend’s racial abuse row… as he dismisses ex-England captain’s claims the incident ‘could have been dealt with better’
Anton Ferdinand has invited John Terry to sit down with him in front of TV cameras to discuss his alleged racist abuse and has dismissed the former England captain’s claim that the incident could have been handled better.
In 2011, Ferdinand claimed Terry used a racially charged term to address him during a match between QPR and Chelsea at Loftus Road.
Terry is said to have called Anton a ‘f*****g black ****’ as video footage circulated online. He had then claimed to have said to Ferdinand: ‘Oi, Anton, do you think I called you a black ****?’
The ex-Chelsea defender was charged over the incident but was acquitted by the court.
Terry has always denied abusing the former QPR centre-back but was handed a four-match ban and £220,000 fine by the Football Association following the incident.
Anton Ferdinand has invited John Terry to sit down with him in front of TV cameras to discuss his alleged racist abuse
Ferdinand later reshared the statement in a post on social media site X (formerly Twitter)
Speaking William Hill is at the forefront with Simon Jordan Podcast last week the former England defender said he regretted the consequences.
However, Ferdinand dismissed the claims and challenged Terry to confront him in front of TV cameras to clear up the incident for good.
“Positive change…@JohnTerry26 if you want to argue, let’s sit down and watch the footage back?!,” he posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The post included a clip of Ferdinand speaking on Vibe with Five, his brother Rio’s YouTube channel.
‘As you know, I made a documentary for the BBC, which gives all the facts and in which he [Terry] actually refused to step in,” the younger Ferdinand says in the clip.
“I wanted him there to make positive change.
“I saw what he had to say on Simon Jordan’s podcast, so this is my thing.
Ferdinand accused Terry of racially abusing him during a match at Loftus Road in October 2011
Terry has always denied the allegations and was acquitted by the court after his indictment
The former Chelsea captain stood trial in 2012 but was ultimately acquitted of racist abuse
Terry claimed on Simon Jordan’s podcast last week that he felt the incident could have been handled much better
“If you really want to make a positive change, I will sit down with you with live cameras rolling so we have nowhere to hide.
“We look at the actual footage unblurred and start from there.
“If you don’t want to talk about it like that, the matter is closed as far as I’m concerned.”
On Jordan’s podcast, Terry revealed that Rio once gave him a blank face on a Dubai beach after he was accused of racially abusing Anton.
The 43-year-old also claimed he had tried to clear the air with the Ferdinand brothers, but to no avail.
“Since then I’ve been trying to talk to Rio, who won’t talk to me at all,” Terry said, when Jordan asked him for his thoughts on the incident.
‘I saw him on the beach in Dubai and he refused to talk to me. If I’m honest, I think it could have been handled and handled much better.”
Terry was charged by the CPS in December 2011 with using racist language and he pleaded not guilty when his trial began eight months later, before being acquitted.
The FA subsequently accused him of using ‘offensive and/or insulting words or behaviour’, which ‘included a reference to Ferdinand’s ethnicity and/or race’.
The relationship between Terry (left) and Anton’s brother Rio (right) turned sour after the alleged racial abuse incident
Terry revealed that Rio Ferdinand gave him a blank face on a beach in Dubai as he asked for a meeting
The former Man United defender (left) reportedly told Terry he did not want to talk to him
The five-time Premier League winner chose not to appeal the decision and subsequently apologized for the ‘language used’.
In a statement, Terry said: ‘After careful consideration I have decided not to appeal the FA verdict.
He added: ‘While I am disappointed with the FA’s ruling, I accept that the language I have used, regardless of context, is not acceptable on the football field or indeed in any area.’
Terry had previously spoken publicly about the incident during a BBC documentary, ‘Football, Racism and Me’, which was released in 2021.
In it, the former Chelsea star claimed he spoke to Rio in Dubai and said: ‘Do you have five minutes? I’d like to talk to you,’ with the ex-Man United defender replying: ‘I don’t want to talk to you, JT.’
Rio, meanwhile, has previously criticized Terry for the way he handled the racism case, calling him “the biggest idiot” in his autobiography released in 2014.
Terry added during his interview with Jordan that he had also tried to talk to Anton about the incident in 2011.
“I tried to contact Anton that evening after the match,” he said. ‘And I was actually immediately closed off from all of them.
‘I knew Anton, we were friends, we knew each other and always got along well. Obviously I got along well with Rio. We could have done something more powerful than what ended up happening. And that’s probably my disappointment, because it is [racism] is in the game.
“It’s obvious in the stadiums and everything now that we definitely have to get out. We could have done something really powerful as a group of players, not just us, but everyone else, I think at the time.”
Ferdinand, who played for QPR between 2011 and 2013, denied Terry had tried to contact him
Ferdinand posted a tweet saying ‘the door was still open to talk’ and asked Terry to call him
Ferdinand, meanwhile, has previously responded to comments from Terry that he had contacted him, denying that the ex-Chelsea defender had been in contact.
He wrote in a tweet in 2021: “I never personally received a call from JT prior to the documentary or during the trial.
As I indicated in the document, if he takes racism in football seriously and wants to create positive change, the door is still open for a conversation.
“Then call me JT?”