Rio Ferdinand brands John Terry an idiot in his autobiography
Former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand has called John Terry out for acting like an idiot in the race row 3 years ago that involved Ferdinand’s brother Anton.
Ferdinand, in his autobiography, said, “For me the biggest idiot will always be John Terry. As England captain and my centre-back partner he could have saved everyone a lot of pain by admitting immediately he used the word in the heat of the moment, but was no racist. I think that’s probably what happened and what the truth is. Anton and I would’ve accepted that – instead he never gave us a chance. That was the betrayal. He tried to run away from what he had done.”
All this made it clear that Ferdinand had definitely not forgotten the entire episode, and feels that he was deeply betrayed by his defensive partner Terry.
The incident involving Terry and Anton Ferdinand saw the England captain under investigation for calling Ferdinand (playing at that time for QPR) a f****ing black c***. Although he was initially absolved of all charges by the Westminster magistrates’ court but following an investigation by the FA, he was banned for four games and fined £220,000.
It also caused Rio Ferdinand’s England career to come to a premature end, as he was omitted from the England squad for the 2012 Euros, and announced his retirement in May of the next year. When asked if the England set-up ever asked him if Terry and him would be able to work together, he said, “No one ever asked. I find that pretty extraordinary because I’d let it be known [that he would].” He also revealed that the pair have become estranged and not spoken since.
Ferdinand also expressed his disappointment at Ashley Cole’s decision to testify in favour of John Terry in the case, saying, “Ashley Cole had long been a friend of mine. We’ve known each other since we were kids. But for me it ended the day he decided to go to court in support of John Terry. Anton rang me and my head nearly blew off. He was betraying Anton, who he’d also known for years.”