FA 'a week away' from Terry call

Garth Crooks says the FA should have taken immediate action over the John Terry case
14 July 2012

The Football Association will study the findings of the John Terry court case before deciding whether or not to bring any charges against the Chelsea captain.

Terry has been cleared at Westminster Magistrates' Court of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand and the FA will now have to decide whether to open disciplinary proceedings under its rules.

An FA spokesman said: "The FA notes the decision in the John Terry case and will now seek to conclude its own enquiries. The FA will make no further comment at this time."

The FA can still bring charges even though Terry was found not guilty in court. It is likely to be at least a week before a decision is made.

Liverpool's Luis Suarez was banned by the FA last season for racially abusing Patrice Evra but that case never went to court.

Former Manchester United and Tottenham striker Garth Crooks, now a BBC presenter, has criticised the FA for not acting sooner.

Crooks said on www.guardian.co.uk: "The real problem in the Terry case began once the FA failed to take immediate action.

"This lack of fibre by the governing body to act instantly when Terry gave them a statement after the verbal clash with Ferdinand, threw the entire procedure into chaos - forcing everyone associated with the game to either dive for cover or sit on the fence."

Crooks believes that Terry should still face action from the FA even though the Chelsea player's defence was that he was only repeating what he believed Ferdinand had accused him of saying.

He added: "I believe it was wrong of him to say these words under any circumstances - and though Terry has been found not to have committed a criminal offence, the FA must now decide whether the former England captain should be charged for contravening its own rules."

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