There was some big off the pitch news this morning in England. Chelsea Captain John Terry has been cleared of charges that he racially abused QPR's Anton Ferdinand during a match at Loftus Road last season.
Terry's defense maintained that any words exchanged were a result of Ferdinand taunting Terry about an alleged affair that Terry had with Wayne Bridge's girlfriend. Terry's assertation is that he misheard "bridge" as "black" and that comments were made in response to this, not as insults directed at Ferdinand.
The magistrate wrote in his opinion:
"The prosecution evidence as to what was said by Mr. Ferdinand at this point is not strong. Mr. (Ashley) Cole (the Chelsea defender) gives corroborating (although far from compelling corroborating) evidence on this point. It is therefore possible that what he said was not intended as an insult, but rather as a challenge to what he believed had been said to him.''
Anton Ferdinand had been reluctant to pursue a criminal case in the matter, but was persuaded by an off duty police officer after the event. The controversy resulted in Terry being stripped of the England Captain's arm band, and ultimately to the departure of Fabio Cappello, who publicly disagreed with the FA's decision. Had Terry been convicted he would have faced a fine of 2,500 pounds (3,900 dollars.) Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said afterward that Terry is looking forward to getting his mind back on football.
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