John Terry: Trials and Tribulations

England's Loss. Chelsea's Gain.

I'm confused. If I'm being honest, not a feeling I'm unaccustomed to - but this whole John Terry affair (ahem) has really been the pinnacle of baffling behaviour. Not from him, not even from either Ferdinand no matter how childish their behaviour has been. I mean not only do I fully expect this of Rio - but would have been shocked if he had not been a petulant toddler throughout the fiasco.

But in a country that's meant to be about innocent until proven guilty - how is it guilty until proven not guilty ... And yet somehow STILL guilty? The mind boggles. I'm not here to say whether he did it or not, just that he was actually tried, in court, and they found him not guilty. They heard all the information and gave a verdict based on that. And if the FA find Terry innocent just as the courts had, the other Ferdinand could pursue a civil case. Which means Terry could literally be tried THREE times for the same incident.

One trial. One verdict.



Sure, John Terry doesn't always cut a warm and fuzzy character with the whole P in Bridge's missus' V, the gambling, the paid tours... But the absolute witch hunt has spiralled out of control. The things I've read in the past 24 hours directed at Terry (and Cole) are as disgusting as anything Terry's accused of saying. This is no justification for any form of racial slur - but those so keen to see 'justice' are using just as derogatory language as they are supposedly railing against. The pinup boy for this of course is Rio as he used a racial slur against Ashley Cole, to vent his anger at.... a racial slur. I know you all had a mum that taught you two wrongs don't make a right - and Rio Ferdinand should never be the model of behaviour for anyone - even twitter trolls and keyboard warriors.

Aside from the irony of that, the FA have a clause which dictates they should presume the verdict of a case to be true and act based upon those assumptions. FA rule 6.8, which governs disciplinary hearings and states that the results of relevant civil or criminal proceedings are "presumed to be correct and the facts presumed to be true" by FA commissions. If Terry had been found guilty, would the FA have foregone their secondary investigation to see if the courts may have got it wrong? Or would they have invoked the clause and proceeded with punishment? I think we all know the answer to that, and for those who don't ... no. They would have definitely cited the court's verdict as justification for punishment without investigation.

One trial. One verdict.

If it was the FA's goal to continue to make poor decisions to ensure the failure of their national team - they may have just ensured that. Say what you want of Terry as a man, but he's one of the few players for England who've looked like they give a fuck. He was arguably one of England's best players this summer (although not much competition this year). It'll be a massive loss for the national team but a gain for Chelsea.

Racism is wrong. Full stop. But so is the constant pursuit of a case until you hear the 'right' answer. The people racially abusing or even just abusing Cole for his testimony - step back and look at yourselves you muppets. Is this really a stand for justice or just an easy way to abuse someone to make yourself feel better about your own life?

One trial. One verdict. One England Captain.*

jb

* ok the last one may have been a little far, but the rest remains relevant.