Chelsea captain John Terry was given a four-match ban by the Football Association (FA) after being found guilty of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers’ Anton Ferdinand yesterday.
An FA statement said an independent regulatory commission had issued a suspension for a period of four matches and a fine of £220,000 pending appeal.
Terry has 14 days from receiving the written reasons for the decision to lodge an appeal against a decision relating to an incident that took place during Chelsea’s match away to QPR at Loftus Road on October 23 last year.
The ban will not come into force until the appeals procedure is complete.
In the short term, that means central defender Terry, who played in the 6-0 English League Cup rout of Wolves on Tuesday, is available for Chelsea’s Premier League match away to London rivals Arsenal tomorrow.
Terry’s representatives said he was “disappointed” by the decision and would consider his position before deciding whether to appeal.
Their statement said: “Mr Terry is disappointed that the FA Regulatory Commission has reached a different conclusion to the clear not guilty verdict of a court of law.
“He has asked for the detailed written reasons of the decision and will consider them carefully before deciding whether to lodge an appeal.”
European champions Chelsea responded to the verdict by saying: “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.”
The FA’s statement said the commission had found a charge of misconduct against Terry “proven”.
It added the FA had charged Terry on Friday, July 27, with using “abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour towards QPR’s Anton Ferdinand and which incl-uded a reference to colour and/or race contrary to FA Rule E3 (2)”.
The statement explained the charge was placed on hold pending the outcome of the criminal trial.
Terry, 31, was cleared of racially abusing Ferdinand in a criminal case in July over allegations relating to the same incident. He dramatically announced his retirement from international football on Sunday, the day before what turned out to be a four-day hearing started.
He effectively accused the FA of forcing his hand after the governing body pressed on with charges following the court case.
“I feel the FA, in pursuing charges against me where I have already been cleared in a court of law, have made my position with the national team untenable,” he said.