John Terry banned and fined over Anton Ferdinand incident

Chelsea captain John Terry has been banned for four matches and fined £220,000 for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand. The Football Association found Terry guilty after a hearing that went on for four days. A spokesman for Terry said the player was "disappointed" the FA had reached a "different conclusion" to the "not guilty verdict of a court of law". The former England captain, aged 31, was cleared by Westminster Magistrates' Court of racially abusing Ferdinand. "He has asked for the detailed written reasons of the decision and will consider them carefully before deciding whether to lodge an appeal," the statement on behalf of Terry said. The verdict released by the Football Association said: "The Football Association charged Mr Terry on Friday 27 July 2012 with using abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour towards Queens Park Rangers' Anton Ferdinand and which included a reference to colour and/or race contrary to FA Rule E3 [2] in relation to the Queens Park Rangers FC versus Chelsea FC fixture at Loftus Road on 23 October 2011." Terry will have 14 days from receiving the written reasons to decide whether to appeal the decision or not. The ban and fine will not come into effect until after the centre-half has decided what to do regarding the appeal. A statement from his club added: "Chelsea Football Club notes and respects today's decision by the Football Association regarding John Terry. We also recognise that John has the right to appeal that decision. It is therefore inappropriate for us to comment further on the matter at this time." John Terry admitted using the word "black" and swearing at Ferdinand but insisted he had only been repeating words he thought the Rangers defender had accused him of saying. The FA's decision to press ahead with their own charges led John Terry to announce he was retiring from international football with immediate effect. The footballer's legal team argued the FA's own rules dictated that his acquittal in court meant the case could not proceed but the FA believed their charge was distinct from the court charge. Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was given an eight-match ban when an FA disciplinary panel found him guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra last season. The FA judges said at that time that simply using racist language was enough to constitute a breach of the rules.