Audio By Carbonatix
Chelsea captain John Terry pointed to his work helping African footballers and their charities as evidence he isn't prejudiced during police interviews heard at his racism trial on Tuesday.
The England defender lost the national team captaincy over accusations he racially abused Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match last October.
In a statement to police heard in court on the second day of the trial, Terry insisted that the language he used was "responsive and not accusatory." The 31-year-old center back says he was merely repeating the term to Ferdinand to counter what he believed he was being accused of.
Defending his character to police, Terry highlighted his work helping to integrate a "multicultural group of players" at Chelsea and his long-standing support for the charity work of black former teammates Marcel Desailly and Didier Drogba.
"My commitment to the projects demonstrates I'm not racist," Terry told police.
Terry, who was in the dock for a second day, faces a maximum fine of 2,500 pounds ($3,900) if he becomes the first top football player in England convicted of racial abuse during a game.
Terry also repeatedly defended his character during disciplinary interviews last October with the English Football Association, which were heard at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
"I have been called a lot of things in my career and off the pitch but being racist is not one I am prepared to take at all," he said before being charged with a racially aggravated public order offense.
"I'm not having anyone, let alone Anton, think that about me or anyone else," he added. "That's not my character ... I was taken aback by that. I have never been accused of that."
The court heard for the first time that it was an off-duty police officer who initially complained to police about Terry's comments, which were posted on YouTube within 30 minutes of the globally televised match ending.
After the prosecution closed its case, Terry's legal team said there is no "prima facie case" against the player.
Lawyer George Carter-Stephenson said Ferdinand "is not a reliable witness," claiming his evidence on Monday on the build-up to the confrontation with Terry was "misleading."
Ferdinand's reliability "is further damaged," Carter-Stephenson said, by the fact he identified a YouTube clip of the incident as being from the live TV feed when it was from footage that wasn't broadcast.
Carter-Stephenson said the video is "interpreted and incomplete," adding that evidence from lip-reading experts is inconclusive.
"This case should go no further, there is insufficient evidence," he said.
Chief magistrate Howard Riddle said he would consider the application for the case to be dismissed during the lunch break.
The verdict in the trial, which is expected to last five days, will be decided by Riddle instead of a jury.
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Tags:
DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
Latest Stories
-
NDC highlights first year achievements, vows to stabilise economy and strengthen governance
11 minutes -
Ghana’s performance broadly satisfactory; faces downside risks to economy – IMF
22 minutes -
Cybercrime crackdown: 48 suspects arrested in Dawhenya operation
25 minutes -
Any further easing of policy rate should remain gradual and data dependent – IMF to BoG
30 minutes -
ICU-Ghana boss urges gov’t to translate economic gains into better living standards for workers
34 minutes -
BoG rolls out new directives on documentations needed for cross border trading
44 minutes -
Interior Minister pledges government support to strengthen security services
55 minutes -
GoldBod exceeds 2025 small-scale gold export target, earns over $10bn
57 minutes -
Brazil’s Supreme Court allows Bolsonaro to leave prison for surgery
57 minutes -
Abu Trica, two co-accused denied bail in cybercrime and money laundering case
60 minutes -
Government’s indebtedness to SSNIT reduces Trust investment earnings, jeopardize ability to pay future pensions – World Bank
1 hour -
English limits national progress — Asante Professionals Club pushes for use of local languages
2 hours -
Australian man charged after endorsing Bondi attack had weapons stockpile, police say
2 hours -
Ukraine loses embattled eastern town
2 hours -
Australia to deport British man charged with displaying Nazi symbols
2 hours
