SWLondoner took to the streets of Wimbledon to find out…
John Terry was banned for four matches and fined £220,000 yesterday, for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.
The FA decision comes after a four day hearing but has caused huge controversy and many comparisons with the eight-match ban Luis Suarez received for similar offences last year.
Terry was cleared by Westminster Magistrates’ Court in July but the FA still decided to hold a hearing.
The former England captain now has 14 days to decide whether he will appeal against the FA charge.
Before the hearing started, Terry announced his immediate international retirement stating that his position in the squad had become ‘untenable’.
A four-match ban seems like an odd decision as it is just one more than a ban you receive for getting a red card.
The fine equates to very little in the context of how much John Terry earns every week.
Terry admitted using the word ‘black’ although he has said throughout that he was repeating words that Ferdinand had accused him of saying.
Joey Barton and Jose Mourinho have joined the argument and voiced strong opinions on the FA’s handling of the saga.
SW Londoner took to the streets of Wimbledon to find out: Is John Terry’s four-match ban and £220,000 fine a harsh enough punishment?
Rob Stevens, 20
The ban is inconsistent; it’s not fair as look at what Suarez got. The fine is just small change for a footballer. I think it’s unfair as it should be at least the same. Is it because he’s English?
James Feeley, 62
My own point of view is that it was a heat of the moment thing. I think it is a bit too severe, I am not a massive football fan but in the heat of the game anything happens, I come from an Irish background and you get Irish jokes thrown at you. I think this racism thing has been taken too far; the press have got hold of it and blown it up.
Lawrence Brown, 26
The FA cannot be seen to be lenient when it comes to ethnic racial abuse. He is a former England captain and he has to pay the price, otherwise you don’t know what sort of abuse there will be in the future.
Nigel Armstrong, 39
The ban was not hard enough, he clearly racially harassed someone and he should have been made an example of.
John Osborne, 24
I don’t know what their usual fines are to be honest. I don’t think it’s too harsh. After all he is on camera saying it.
Kevin Jenkins, 48
I think they should have left it to the original criminal justice system and not gone through the FA, they should have left it alone at that point. I don’t feel that Terry should have been dragged through an FA hearing as well.
Gail Cuttler, 54
I haven’t been following that much, how far is racial going? That is the bottom line. How racial is racial? Everyone must now move on with life.
Karlo Keogh, 32
I think he has got his deserved penalty for it. Four matches is fine. There is obviously a lot of controversy about the whole thing. He has been cleared and now fined so I feel sorry for him in a way but its good as it is going to end, everyone can continue from here.
Carly Martin, 31
I think the ban is fine, he is an example to young people so I think racism should be punished so I think it is fair enough really.
Klaus Schepers, 25
It is very difficult to judge how long the ban should be. I wouldn’t want to be that person; it is so difficult to say. The fine is just pocket money for him. He won’t suffer from that. I really think it is very difficult to find the right judgment in these cases.
Kamal Uddin, 34
I was a little bit surprised because in the first trial they cleared him and in the second he was banned. When the judge did it they said he was clear but the FA gives him a punishment. I think it was a little bit harsh.
Peter Okenola, 18
I don’t really agree with two trials but if the FA has proven that he is guilty then I have no problem with the ban and fine and Terry should accept it.
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