Anton Ferdinand believes that he was treated differently to John Terry during the latter's racism case, saying that it even made him feel like he was the one in the wrong.
An independent disciplinary panel found Terry guilty of racially abusing Ferdinand, brother of Manchester United legend Rio, during a Premier League match on 23 October 2011 between QPR and Chelsea, after he was accused of calling Ferdinand a "f****** black c***".
The former England captain served a four-match ban, and was fined £220,000.
Advert
He was acquitted of the criminal case linked to the incident, as it couldn't be proven that he was using the words were spoken as abuse. Terry claimed he was repeating back to Ferdinand what he thought the defender was accusing him of saying.
Former West Ham, QPR, and Sunderland defender Ferdinand opens up about the investigation in BBC One documentary, 'Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism and Me'. He has been racially abused again in promoting the programme.
The 35-year-old said about the witness statement he had to give: "They were probing me, probing me. [They] started to make me feel like I was in the wrong and I'd done something wrong. All I know is that I didn't feel like the victim in that room."
Advert
His cousin, Max, who joined Ferdinand to listen to a recording of Terry giving a statement in the documentary, said: "It's like she [the interviewer] is having a chat with her mate. You came
out of [your interview] and said 'I felt like a criminal'."
Ferdinand added: "That confirms for me that he got treated differently. Just the sharing of the joke says it all, for me."
Ferdinand didn't hear the slur on the pitch, and a family member had to show it to him after the final whistle: "Rage just came over me. You know when they say your blood boils? It just hit me. I couldn't believe what I was watching.
Advert
"I felt hurt but mainly anger towards him, and I wanted to go and hurt him. What has anyone's race got to do with it? That shouldn't even enter your mind."
However, Ferdinand complimented the FA for finding Terry guilty, even after the criminal case failed.
"It was brave for the FA to then come out and find him guilty off the back of that," he said.
The FA commented: "We fully respect Anton's recollection of the investigation. We
appropriately challenged all the evidence and approached the case with
objectivity and impartiality, working tirelessly to ensure what was put
before the disciplinary panel was robust."
Advert
Terry didn't reply to an email that Ferdinand sent during the documentary, but Ferdinand wanted to put it behind him: "It's not a situation where I want to bash him for it, I'm over that, I'm past that. It's bigger than me."
He also believes that the stress of the affair had an effect on his mum, who later fell ill and died of cancer. He said: "I know she wanted me to do this, it just feels right.
"I'm not only doing it for my kids, but for my mum, for her legacy, what she meant to us as a family."
Topics: John Terry, Football News, Football
