Lord Ouseley: FA to decide over Terry 13-02-2012

The Football Association is in the process of deciding whether to charge John Terry with bringing the game into disrepute, with the anti-racism campaigner Lord Herman Ouseley telling ESPN he expects the FA investigation into the incident to continue.


PA Photos
John Terry has been in court for five days
ESPN has contacted the FA and been told that no comment will be made about whether a "football court" will now hear the racism claims and that it is most likely that a decision on that subject will be made later in the light of the Chief Magistrate's verdict of not guilty.

The FA's disciplinary structure does not rely on the more strict higher grade of proof needed for a conviction in the courts, and Lord Ouseley is looking closely at what action the association can now take.

Lord Ouseley, who was key in launching Kick It Out anti-racism campaign, told ESPN: "I expect the FA to consider the evidence and to decide whether it contravenes the FA's rule and regulations or not.

"I would expect the football regulatory body, that is the FA, to re-commence its disciplinary procedures which were interrupted by the police action and the subsequent court case.

"I believe that John Terry has this final hurdle to get over. We have to wait and see, though, if the FA decides to charge him. What we do know is that the FA has a responsibility to uphold the game."

A statement from the FA said it had "noted the decision in the John Terry case'' and would "now seek to conclude its own inquiries''. It added: "The FA will make no further comment at this time.''

But the BBC presenter and pundit Garth Crooks told the BBC News channel: "This saga is not over for Terry. He's still under investigation by the Football Association based on what he's admitted - saying those words.

"The FA need to decide if he's broken any of their rules: ungentlemanly conduct, bringing the game into disrepute and so on. I'm afraid that for John Terry, this is only half-time. This is not over.

"No-one knows when the FA will do anything, but we have an Olympics round the corner. The world is watching this saga and it's an unedifying spectacle. I'm sure the FA will want to put this to bed before the Olympic Games start."

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