Chelsea defender John Terry said yesterday he had decided not to appeal against a four-match ban and fine for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand and issued an apology for his actions.
The former England captain was handed a suspension and a £220,000 (€270,000) fine by the Football Association (FA) last month despite being cleared of racism charges in a court of law earlier in the year.
Terry has also been disciplined by Chelsea for the incident during a match at Loftus Road on October 23, although the European champions are keeping the details of their action confidential.
The 31-year-old, who will miss the club’s next four matches in domestic competition, said: “I want to take this opportunity to apologise to everyone for the language I used in the game against Queens Park Rangers last October.”
He added: “After careful consideration, I have decided not to appeal against the FA judgment.
“Although I’m disappointed with the FA judgment, I accept that the language I used, regardless of the context, is not acceptable on the football field or indeed in any walk of life.”
He added: “As I stated in the criminal case, with the benefit of hindsight my language was clearly not an appropriate reaction to the situation for someone in my position.
“My response was below the level expected by Chelsea Football Club, and by me, and it will not happen again.”
In his statement, issued through his management company, Terry also said he would “continue to do my part in assisting the club to remove all types of discriminatory behaviour from football”.
The ban means Terry will miss Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Tottenham on Saturday, and the league matches against Manchester United and Swansea, as well as a League Cup fourth-round tie against Manchester United.
Cole fined
Meanwhile, the FA fined Ashley Cole and warned him to behave in future after he wrote a criticial tweet about the governing body related to the John Terry-Anton Ferdinand racism hearing.
“Chelsea’s Ashley Cole has been fined £90,000 after he admitted an FA charge in relation to a Twitter comment which was improper and/or brought the game into disrepute,” the FA said in a statement on its website.
The England defender earlier this month angrily described the FA as a “bunch of twats” after the FA cast doubt on his evidence at the hearing into claims that his team-mate John Terry racially abused QPR’s Anton Ferdinand.