The PFA chairman Clarke Carlisle has said that he is extremely disappointed with the length of the ban given to the Chelsea captain and defender John Terry after he was found guilty of racially abusing the QPR defender Anton Ferdinand in a match between the two clubs last season. The 31-year-old was cleared of any misdemeanour by the court of justice recently, but he was charged by the English FA soon after the incident. After more than three days of investigation, the English FA appointed individual panel decided that John Terry was guilty of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.
He was given a ban of four matches along with a fine of £ 220,000. The PFA chairman Clarke Carlisle has said that this is an extremely small punishment for the offence. He has highlighted the ban given to the Liverpool striker Luis Suarez. The Uruguay international was also found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra and was given an eight match ban. However, he was given only a fine of £ 40,000. It is thought that John Terry has been given such a huge fine considering his wages at Chelsea. It remains to be seen if the Chelsea defender will go for an appeal.
“The Luis Suarez ban sent out a strong message that racism isn’t tolerated in the game. Diluting that with this four-match ban almost undermines the initial message. If part of their integration is actively partaking in the anti-discrimination campaigns, in the seminars that go on, not only will they benefit from the information that’s shown in these seminars, but also it shows that they do show some remorse for their actions,” said the 32-year-old Carlisle on the decision by the English FA to ban the player for four matches. Terry will miss crucial matches against Manchester United and Liverpool if that’s the case.