Terry threatened to be sold if he's found guilty of racism again

John Terry has been warned he will be booted out of Chelsea if found guilty of racial abuse again.

He was summoned to a board meeting and told in no uncertain terms that his future at the club is on the line.

The defender was fined £220,000 — two weeks’ wages — but retained the captaincy after announcing he will not be appealing against the FA’s four-match ban for using racist language in an incident with Queens Park Rangers’ Anton Ferdinand last October.

Reading striker Jason Roberts criticised the Terry punishment, urging fellow professionals to refuse to wear T-shirts backing the Kick It Out Campaign before fixtures this month.

Roberts said: ‘The four-match ban, for me, was not a heavy enough sanction for what happened. I’m not happy. They should have given him a longer ban. I’m totally committed to kicking racism out of football but when there’s a movement I feel represents the issue in the way that speaks for me and my colleagues I will support it.’

Terry is facing a £2million bill in legal costs covering his court trial and FA disciplinary hearing.

His Chelsea team-mate Ashley Cole was fined £90,000 by the FA after admitting a misconduct charge for calling them a ‘bunch of t****’ in a tweet after the verdict against Terry.

Former England defender Terry will start the suspension on Saturday, when Chelsea travel to London rivals Tottenham, and will miss two games against Manchester United as well as a clash with Swansea.

Terry will avoid the potential controversy of wearing a Kick It Out T-shirt in the warm-up before the Barclays Premier League home clash with United a week on Sunday.

Despite Terry’s apology, in which he said he wanted ‘to apologise to everyone for the language I used in the game against Queens Park Rangers’, he has been criticised by the Kick It Out Campaign again.

Lord Ouseley said: ‘We are disappointed that there hasn’t been an acknowledgement in it of the hurt experienced by many people caught in the crossfire during the past 12 months.

‘It does, however, form the basis of bringing closure to the matter sometime in the near future.’

In a statement released yesterday lunchtime, Terry said: ‘After careful consideration, I have decided not to appeal against the FA judgment.

‘I want to take this opportunity to apologise to everyone for the language I used in the game against Queens Park Rangers last October.

‘Although I’m disappointed with the FA judgement, I accept that the language I used, regardless of the context, is not acceptable on the football field, or indeed in any walk of life.

‘As I stated in the criminal case, with the benefit of hindsight my language was clearly not an appropriate reaction to the situation for someone in my position.

‘My response was below the level expected by Chelsea Football Club and by me and it will not happen again.

‘Looking forward, I will continue to do my part in assisting the club to remove all types of discriminatory behaviour from football.

‘I am extremely grateful for the consistent support of Chelsea FC, the fans and my family.’

Chelsea, who consistently promised to clarify the club’s position the moment Terry made his decision not to appeal, released a statement of their own within an hour.

The club said: ‘Chelsea Football Club believes John Terry has made the correct decision by not appealing against the FA judgment relating to language he used at the QPR match last October.

‘Chelsea also appreciates, and supports, John’s full apology for the language he used. The club firmly believes such language is not acceptable and fell below the standards expected of John as a Chelsea player.

‘The board has conducted its own investigation into the matter and considered the various issues involved.

‘The board has taken further disciplinary action in addition to the four-match suspension and £220,000 fine imposed by the FA. In accordance with our long-standing policy, that disciplinary action will remain confidential.

‘Chelsea enjoys support all over the world. We have players and supporters from many different countries and cultures and our club is committed to eradicating all forms of discriminatory behaviour. John is fully committed to continue supporting that.'

Chelsea justified their decision to retain Terry as captain by claiming that their disciplinary process always takes places behind closed doors.

They argued that stripping him of the captaincy would have dragged the process into the public arena.

Now Terry is counting the cost of his trial at Westminster Magistrates Court and the decision by the FA’s Independent Regulatory Commission that he should pick up the costs for both sides.

Terry retained George Carter-Stephenson QC on £10,000-a-day for his defence against the FA charge and football’s governing body employed a silk on similar rates.

Source: DailyMail