John Terry spits at Carlos Tevez during the Champions League final
In our everyday lives as mundane individuals we are all expected to conduct ourselves in a particular manner: Whether you are a refuse collector, a retail assistant, a waiter/waitress, or an investment banker. In each of these professions and many, many more the employee will have a set of behavioural criteria within which you are required to fall; or you will swiftly find yourself falling out of a job. Unlike footballers and other famous people we do not have large sums of money in order to build up legal teams to defend us in any such dispute of conduct.
This is relevant to the Terry case as this is what was able to happen by the charges being taken up by the CPS. Terry was able to use his legal defence and show that there was no evidence beyond reasonable doubt that he was racist. And rightly so. It is simply not possible to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a person is racist (unless of course they are a member of an extremist group – and even then such recreational activity may not mirror day to day realities in, for example, the workplace). With the fact that the trial was so delayed, and he eventually got off with a slap on the wrist in the public sphere, it would seem that the whole saga was nothing more than an overhyped waste of time. Despite what it seems and the way it has been played out in the media racism is actually not the issue here…
Like previously stated workplaces have rules and regulations which employers expect you follow. Not for the first time John Terry has brought the game into disrepute (his company the FA also if you will) and thus should face a suitable punishment. What I don’t understand is 1) why everyone rates him so highly? And 2) how a man can be seen as unfit for a job TWICE and still be allowed to enjoy similar privileges?
In a nutshell John Terry is a very ordinary footballer, with an extraordinary skill for avoiding the repercussions of his actions. He can pass a ball, he puts in some very good challenges, and he is decent in the air. In what way does this distinguish him from any other centre-half playing top tier football in the country? IT DOESN’T. I know the Chelsea brigade will be quick to defend him and say he plays with pride and heart, but I would argue just like those other Chelsea internationals around him, he just does not put in the same performances for his national side that he does at club level.
More importantly Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy not once, but twice. Twice he has been looked at by the FA as having too much trouble around him in his personal life and has thus been deemed unfit for service. After a second misdemeanour most of us would find ourselves out of a job. Let alone if we had a criminal court case pending. In any other professional situation and quite likely any other sport the individual would have been suspended pending investigation. Not John Terry, he is allowed to play the rest of the season and even gets to lift the Champion’ League trophy despite being suspended for the final. After this he is then able to represent his country at the Euro’s.
Maybe I am old fashioned and out of touch but it is my belief that each member of the England team should be a possible captain. I see the armband as almost ceremonial: When it comes down to the crunch every player on that pitch should be a leader playing with guts, pride and passion. Now if you are seen as being unfit for this role, unfit to lead your country as part of the 11 elite players on that pitch, then you should not even be in the squad let alone the starting line-up. If you have been deemed twice to have brought the FA and English football into controversy, then surely you are not fit to represent your country at an international tournament watched all over Europe. That is of course unless you are John Terry.
There was a similar instance this season of racial abuse which you may remember between Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra. Suarez was deemed by the FA to have used “insulting words” which included a reference to Evra’s skin colour. Subsequently Suarez was handed an eight match ban and fined £40,000. Now despite this being an issue of racial abuse it was not taken to the courts, it was not stretched out and over-dramatised by the media and Suarez was not able to carry on as if nothing had happened. Suarez was deemed by the FA to bring the game into disrepute and was subsequently punished and forced to bear the consequences of his alleged actions. Of course Luis Suarez is not John Terry.
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Such spite and bias! I am a MU fan but this is taking the biscuit. Its all so boring.
Terry is no angel, far from it, but he is realistically Englands best captain and probably the best defender along side Lescott and Cahill that we have!
How can any United fan rate Cahill above Rio?! Behave.
Sigh.
Steven Gerrard punched someone in a bar for changing the CD.
Ryan Giggs screwed his brother’s – his BROTHER’s – wife.
Why single out Terry? The Premier League has as many utter pricks in it as… gosh, as real life does.
Who’d have thought it.
I “singled-out” Terry as that is the current news on the BBC website about Hodgson still wanting to play him.
As weak as you may perceive the argument to be, neither Gerrard’s or Giggs’ offences were football related. Albeit still despicable but neither had a direct affect on their work or colleagues.
Both of Terry’s have affected both domestic and international football, with the latter having far reaching implications for the socio-political arena within the UK.
Yes but he’s also the best Centre half in the country. People are quick to forget some of the things he does. Look at the “goal line” clearance against Ukraine, if he didn’t stop that chances are people woul dbe calling for Roy Hodgson’s head right now. Out at the group stages, after a dodgy win against Sweden, and getting slaughtered against France (who are crap). Terry’s passing and tackling has been for the last 8 years the best in the country. Despite having some poor managers at Chelsea over the last 10 years it tells you something that certain players are always picked and certain players aren’t. Its not player power, its that Joe Cole doesn’t warrant a place as much as John Terry. He earns his place, and I although I think he may be on the decline, age wasn’t an issue for Ferdinand until he was 32/33 so why is it for Terry now? He’s never had pace, but that will never change.
surely you rather see Ferdinand in place of Terry even thou he fails drug tests for fun but I don’t expect anything else from someone who writes for a Man U website. the fact that you had nothing to do the whole day and decided to pick on Terry simply because there is nothing much to say about United at the moment speaks volumes about what kind of journalist you are. get a job at the tabloids…
I can recall Rio missing a drugs test but failing one?? That s new.
You shouldn’t be so critical of someone who has “nothing better to do than write about John Terry”. Your calendar is hardly full if you are trawling United sites at half four in the afternoon when you are clearly not a fan.
Does contributing to a fansite make someone a journo?
Let me explain this as simply as I can for you…Suarez admitted to saying what he said…which was repeated several times. JT has always maintained his innocence which was upheld in a court of law.
Cant really compare the two cases.
Whats your views on Rios tweets?? Lets see then whether you write an article at the end of the week when his case is finished. Will you be writing Rio the racist and shouldnt be in the United squad let alone England???
and by the way I’ve never seen a Chelsea website publishing articles about United players. can’t be that boring at the United camp can it?
http://www.cfcnet.co.uk/2012/07/16/rio-ferdinand-off-of-your-pedestal/
mate you think chelsea players don’t put in the same performances for there country what players do rooney is awful for england ashley cole is consistanly englands best player. terry maybe ordinary but he is always picked above ferdinand by england managers and they probably know a bit more about football than you. i am a chelsea fan but i agree terry lets himself down and our club down time and againbut to question him on the pitch is moronic.
Whats so special about John Terry?…..surely thats rhetorical to put it milldly and yes i’d take Cahill over ferdinand every time
As some one else roghtly notes, Teryy is no angel but what he is without a shadow of a doubt is ‘Captain Leader legend! ‘
ps theres only one club in manchester now and they pulled the red flag down.
it seems unlikely that chelsea players and fans will ever accept the fact their players lack class and discipline. Did Rio miss the test twice? Did Rio get himself sent-off when mufc needed him? Did Rio try to take a penalty in Rome when there were better takers around? Terry is a stain on English football. Period
I didn’t want this to be a JT vs Rio scenario, but you make some valid head to head points here sir
Should you also mention the Rio drink driving case from a long time ago? Maybe the calling Chris Evans a faggot? I’m not saying Rio is a bad guy, I think what I’m saying is that despite what Terry has done a)Utd fans can forgive Giggs for doing one of the things, and b) he’s not been found guilty of a racist comment.
I would also point out that in the heat of a football match I have been called far worse than what Terry is being accused of. Actually I’ve been called worse on a night out.
I am not saying its right, and he deserves a punishment if he is found guilty, but the moral high ground that seems to be taken here is insane. No one cares what Giggs did because its Ryan Giggs. And who’s to say that drivinf over 100MpH is less of a crime than a saying something racist? Well actually the law would say the opposite. Larger fines and potential punishments are in general higher for the speeding and potentially killing someone.
Hodgsons claim that he chose Terry for football reasons over Rio has just been shot to pieces….this just confirms what any sane football fan knew it had nothing to do with football….on another note some moronic comments on here…Terry squirmed his way out of this one….most black people i know (including myself) believes Terry called AF a black cunt and then twisted it….as for Rios tweet… amongst black people (again moi included) do not regard this as a racist slur more of insult to his integrity….it is white people who have turned into a racist slur….
I think you need to learn what is defined by a slur. A slur is something found offensive by another. Making something a racial slur is simply offensive and to do with skin colour. If I said that my best friend is black, that’s not racist (providing he actually is). If I said my best friend is a c*nt, I’m probably being a little harsh but I think most of us have said something similar to that in our lives. If you call me a white C*nt then that should be just as bad. Choc Ice does have a negative connotation the fact that the majority of white people find it funny because they don’t care that they are white should mean nothing. You can’t comment on whether you find somethign offensive. That’s Ashley Cole’s decision, but its not a compliment
People get real,each one of us have failed in life once or twice, we let people down that have trust in us. Terry and Rio are human at all. FA conspire FIFA thus leting football into desrepute according to fifa. Moral and rightousness you do in church, mosks,, on the football pitch are man irrespect of their colours at work who will do anything for their team to win 3 points. In between is an unbiased ref and ‘football’ game is on. There are not supose to be police to see who is gay, who sleep with who, who is a good father who is not. If tWo player clash and the game is finish, as Sep said bring the two player together, make them understand their fault and let them apologise to the fan, and to football lovers, let them move on. Football brings peace. Be fair and fespect your oponent. NNo lawyers,No FA’s,’discipline wise’ teams employ this guys and have a role to play as employers.
Then you can think or talk of olimpic spirit. Olympic is based on respect not iron fist and policingm