Rio Ferdinand And Chelsea Captain John Terry Were The Moralising State’s Useful ‘Idiots’
QUEEN’S Park Rangers defender Rio Ferdinand says Chelsea “Legend” John Terry “is the biggest idiot”.
RIO Ferdinand today lifts the lid on the John Terry racism row that ended their international careers.
Did it end their careers? Maybe not because in September 2013, the Evening Standard reported:
When he retired, Ferdinand insisted his decision would allow younger players to come through but also admitted the threat of injuries and protecting his Old Trafford career were reasons. “That was certainly part of the decision over England,” added Ferdinand, who recently made his 300th Premier League appearance for United.
So. Ferdinand quit England. England did not quit Ferdinand.
And Terry was never given a lifetime ban from playing for England for using “abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour’” which “included a reference to the ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race of (Anton) Ferdinand”.
But given that racially abusing Anton Ferdinand was unlikely to in him many friends at the super-racially aware FA (number of non-independent, black executives on FA board: zero), Terry retired in 2012, saying:
“I am today announcing my retirement from international football… I am making this statement today in advance of the hearing of the FA disciplinary charge because I feel the FA, in pursuing charges against me where I have already been cleared in a court of law, have made my position with the national team untenable.”
Terry saw himself as the victim. But he could have carried on.
The Sun adds:
In his blistering new autobiography #2sides, Rio, 35, says they no longer speak after John abused his brother Anton during a Chelsea vs QPR clash on October 23, 2011. And he finds it “impossible to forgive or forget” the pain the ex-England skipper put his family through…
I NEVER truly spoke out about the incident where John Terry called my brother “a f****** black c***”. We were advised not to by our lawyers.
NEVER?
Rio tweeted: “Film of the day: Liar Liar….starring Jim Carey. what a film!!” (sic)
That came after Terry said in his statement: “It’s myself, Anton and Ash (Ashley Cole), nobody else, and I said to Anton, ‘was you accusing me of calling you a black c***?’
Terry admitted he said the words but claimed their tone was sarcastic.
Make your own link.
When Ashley Cole spoke in Terry’s defence, Rio called him a “choc ice” – a term with obvious racial connotations.
On twitter a @CarltonEbanks, opined: “Looks like Ashley Cole’s going to be their choc ice. Then again he’s always been a sellout. Shame on him.”
Rio Ferdinand responded: “I hear you fella! Choc ice is classic hahahahahahha!!” He then added: “I’m more a cherry brandy man! Used to go for the twisters too back in the day! Classics.”
Followed by: “Its Sarcasm!”
As we know, sarcasm can be misconstrued as racism.
Cole’s agent Graham Shear stated that his client “wishes to make it clear that he and Rio are good friends and Ashley has no intention of making any sort of complaint…Ashley appreciates tweeting is so quick it often results in offhand and stray comments.”
Well, yes. We should take care not to use things said in the heat of the moment to explain a person’s character. Cole was talking to Rio.
Now Rio has a book to plug. Now he speaks out:
Instead I watched as the court case that followed damaged football and race relations in Britain, while my brother Anton, the innocent party in all this, had his career damaged and was subjected to death threats. There were bullets in the post, and unending racist abuse. My mum had her windows smashed and bullets put through her door, and ended up in hospital with a virus because of the stress.
I’ve always felt not speaking out was wrong, because the legal and football authorities made mistakes all the way through and I regret not saying so at the time.
But, for me, the biggest idiot will always be John Terry.
Sure. Rio is close to the action. But looking on, the biggest idiot is the one who threatens Anton with a gun and abuses the players’ mother.
Others could argue that the Sun was idiotic for suggesting that Anton would like to shoot Terry:
Then Rio is sensible:
As England captain and my centre back partner he could have saved everyone a lot of pain by admitting immediately that he had used the words in the heat of the moment, but was no racist. I think that’s probably what happened and what the truth is. Anton and I would’ve accepted that — instead he never gave us the chance.
Things are said on the pitch, just as Luis Suarez and Patrice Evara. And then there was the fact thst Anton hadn’t heard Terry racially abuse him.
Immediately after the match, Ferdinand did not think that Terry had used racist words, the court heard. But after the match his girlfriend at the time played him a YouTube clip, and he became convinced that one had.
And that – that! – ended up as a court case and as a stick with which the political elite could beat football for being a bastion of racism. (Next time an MP stands up to lambaste racism in football count the number of black faces stood around him then look at the accused players’ teammates. You want racism – the denial of equal opportunity based on race – don’t look at football.)
Back to Rio, who says:
I’ve never actually spoken to John about the case. I no longer talk to him, but even three years later I find it impossible to forgive or forget the pain he put my family through. We played 30 or 40 games for England together. We’d competed against each other for years. We weren’t best mates but we were football buddies. Yet he just sat there and watched as my brother went through all that because of his stupidity.
No. Anton went through it all because people – the Crown Proescution Service and a myraid of moralisers in the system – thought Terry yelling “FBC”, as the phrase was referenced in court, would cleanse them after the Stephen Lawrence murder case. It would also teach the working class a lesson in how to behave.
Rio then adds:
He [Terry] certainly never showed himself to me to be racist. But from the very beginning he handled the situation badly.
He did. But, then, Terry was a minor player in the campaign to make him the pariah of decent society…
Posted: 14th, September 2014 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
