John Terry won't appeal

                                         John Terry won't appeal against his ban

Chelsea defender John Terry has decided not to appeal against a four-match ban and fine of £220,000 for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.
Terry had until 6pm on Thursday evening to contest the sanction issued by an independent Football Association regulatory commission.
However, in a statement released via his representatives Elite Management, Terry said: "After careful consideration, I have decided not to appeal against the FA judgment.
"I want to take this opportunity to apologise to everyone for the language I used in the game against Queens Park Rangers last October.
"Although I'm disappointed with the FA judgment, I accept that the language I used, regardless of the context, is not acceptable on the football field or indeed in any walk of life."
Terry's statement continued: "As I stated in the criminal case, with the benefit of hindsight my language was clearly not an appropriate reaction to the situation for someone in my position.
"My response was below the level expected by Chelsea Football Club, and by me, and it will not happen again.
"Looking forward, I will continue to do my part in assisting the club to remove all types of discriminatory behaviour from football.
"I am extremely grateful for the consistent support of Chelsea FC, the fans and my family."
Terry was found guilty by the independent FA commission of calling Ferdinand a "f****** black c***" during a Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and QPR on October 23.
He has always maintained that he was merely repeating an accusation levelled at him by Ferdinand, but the commission found that his words were used as an insult.
The commission described Terry's version of events at Loftus Road as "improbable, implausible and contrived" in their written reasons for issuing the ban.
The three-man panel also questioned why Terry's team-mate Ashley Cole had changed his statement to give more support to Terry's story, sparking a furious response from the Chelsea and England defender who described the FA as a "bunch of t***s" in a tweet sent on October 5.
Cole has since issued a full apology for that and has admitted a misconduct charge.
The commission said in its written reasons: "The commission is quite satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that there is no credible basis for Mr Terry's defence that his use of the words 'f****** black c***' were directed at Mr Ferdinand by way of forceful rejection and/or inquiry.
"Instead, we are quite satisfied, and find on the balance of probabilities, that the offending words were said by way of insult.
"Accordingly, the commission finds that there is 'clear and convincing' evidence."
The commission said that character references from a number of people, including black players, made it clear that Terry was not racially prejudiced.
"It is accepted by everyone involved in the criminal and disciplinary proceedings that Mr Terry is not a racist," added the commission.
Terry had been cleared in Westminster Magistrates Court in July of a racially-aggravated public order offence, partly helped by the testimony of Cole.
However, the commission found that there were discrepancies in Cole's initial statement to FA interviewers of what he heard Ferdinand say to Terry compared to later statements.
Cole did not mention the word 'black' in the initial interview with the FA on October 28. On November 3, Chelsea club secretary David Barnard asked the FA for the specific word 'black' to be inserted into Cole's witness statement, suggesting that Cole may have heard Ferdinand use the term.
The commission saw an email exchange between the FA and Barnard and said that should be regarded as "cogent new evidence".
John Terry Factfile
1980: December 7 - born in London.
1998: Makes Chelsea debut against Aston Villa.
2001: One of four players fined two weeks' wages by Chelsea after their behaviour at a Heathrow hotel is criticised on the day after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
2002: Terry and Chelsea team-mate Jody Morris are cleared after being charged with assault and affray in connection with a nightclub incident. Terry, uncapped at the time, is ruled out of the World Cup after the Football Association decide he should not be considered for international duty with England until the legal case is completed.
2003: June 3 - Makes England debut as substitute against Serbia and Montenegro.
2004: August 15 - Appointed Chelsea captain, succeeding Marcel Desailly.
2006: August 10 - Chosen to replace David Beckham as England captain by head coach Steve McClaren.
2008: May 21 - Misses penalty in shoot-out against Manchester United which would have won Chelsea the Champions League.
August 19 - Named as permanent captain of England by Fabio Capello.
2009: December 20 - Chelsea defend Terry after allegations he took secret cash payments to lay on a behind-the-scenes tour of the club's training ground.
2010: January 29: Named as the sportsman behind a gagging injunction involving his private life. A court order had previously been in place, covering an alleged relationship between married Terry and French model Vanessa Perroncel - a former partner of team-mate Wayne Bridge.
February 5 - Axed as England captain following a meeting with Capello.
February 27 - Bridge refuses to shake Terry's hand before Chelsea's match with Manchester City.
2011: March 19 - Restored to the role of permanent England captain by Capello.
October 23 - Releases a statement denying he made a racist slur against Anton Ferdinand during Chelsea's defeat at QPR after videos had circulated on the internet.
November 1 - The Metropolitan Police confirm they have launched a formal investigation into the Ferdinand incident.
December 21 - The Crown Prosecution Service announce Terry will be charged with racially abusing Ferdinand and is due to appear before West London Magistrates' Court on February 1, 2012.
2012: January 28 - The FA cancels the pre-match handshakes before the FA Cup fourth-round tie between QPR and Chelsea "to defuse further tensions" relating to the Terry-Ferdinand situation.
February 1 - District Judge Howard Riddle orders that Terry should stand trial in the week beginning July 9 - following Euro 2012 - after hearing a number of other Chelsea players would not be able to appear as witnesses until the end of the football season.
February 3 - Terry is stripped of the England captaincy for a second time. The decision was taken by members of the 14-strong FA board, without consulting Capello.
February 8 - Capello resigns as England manager two days after criticising the decision to strip Terry of the captaincy.
April 18 - Terry captains Chelsea to a famous 1-0 victory over Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final encounter at Stamford Bridge.
April 24 - Sent off in second leg against Barca at Nou Camp for kneeing Alexis Sanchez from behind in the first half. Chelsea draw the game 2-2 and reach the final.
May 5 - Picks up his fifth FA Cup winner's medal after Chelsea overcome Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley.
May 19 - Chelsea win their first Champions League after stunning Bayern Munich with a penalty shoot-out victory at the Allianz Arena. Terry, banned for the final for his red card against Barcelona, is ridiculed for changing into full kit at the final whistle to join in with the celebrations.
June 24 - Plays the full 90 minutes and extra time as England suffer more penalty heartache, losing their Euro 2012 quarter-final to Italy on penalties.
July 13 - Cleared at Westminster Magistrates' Court of making a racist insult to Ferdinand.
July 27 - Charged by the FA with using racist language towards QPR defender Ferdinand.
August 30 - Recalled to England squad, after missing friendly against Sweden, for September's World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine.
September 9 - Withdraws from England squad for Ukraine game after picking up ankle injury in 5-0 win in Moldova.
September 23 - Announces his retirement from international football, shortly before the start of his personal hearing to answer the FA charge.
September 27 - Banned for four matches and fined £220,000 by an FA independent regulatory commission.
October 5 - FA reveal written reasons behind independent commission's ruling, insisting Terry's racist language towards Ferdinand was used as an insult and finding "no credible basis" for his defence that he was only repeating words he believed the QPR defender said to him.
October 18 - Terry decides not to appeal against the four-match ban and fine. Terry also apologises for the language he used in the match against QPR.

                                           John Terry: Subject of international action

Chelsea say they have taken "further disciplinary action" against John Terry after he decided not to appeal against his four-match ban for racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand - but the club are keeping their sanction secret.
Terry has apologised for the language he used after announcing he will not challenge the ban and fine of £220,000 issued by an independent Football Association regulatory commission two weeks ago.
Terry has not however apologised directly to Ferdinand.
Chelsea said in a statement they have taken further steps against their captain.
The statement said: "Chelsea Football Club believes John Terry has made the correct decision by not appealing against the FA judgment relating to language he used at the QPR match last October.
"Chelsea also appreciates, and supports, John's full apology for the language he used. The club firmly believes such language is not acceptable and fell below the standards expected of John as a Chelsea player.
"The board has conducted its own investigation into the matter, and considered the various issues involved. The board has taken further disciplinary action in addition to the four-match suspension and £220,000 fine imposed by the FA. In accordance with our long-standing policy, that disciplinary action will remain confidential."

'No credible basis' for Terry defence

                                                                Terry: Banned for four games
John Terry's defence that he had not racially insulted QPR defender Anton Ferdinand was "improbable, implausible and contrived", according to the commission who banned the Chelsea skipper for four matches.
The independent Football Association regulatory commission said there was "no credible basis" for Terry's claim he had only been repeating words he thought Ferdinand had accused him of saying.
In their full written reasons for the four-match ban, the commission said they were satisfied the words "f***ing black c***" were intended as an insult by Terry. He now has two weeks in which to appeal.
The commission also stated: "There are further aspects of Mr Terry's defence that the commission finds improbable, implausible and contrived, and which serve to underline and reinforce our decision.
"The commission is quite satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that there is no credible basis for Mr Terry's defence that his use of the words 'f****** black c***' were directed at Mr Ferdinand by way of forceful rejection and/or inquiry.
"Instead, we are quite satisfied, and find on the balance of probabilities, that the offending words were said by way of insult.
"We are able to arrive at that decision without needing to make any adverse findings against Mr Terry arising out of his decision not to give evidence.
"Accordingly, the commission finds that there is 'clear and convincing' evidence."
The commission said that character references from a number of people including black players made it clear that Terry was not racially prejudiced.
"It is accepted by everyone involved in the criminal and disciplinary proceedings that Mr Terry is not a racist," added the commission.
Ashley Cole's statement supporting Terry's version, and the role played by a Chelsea club official, has also been questioned by the commission.
Terry had been cleared in Westminster Magistrates Court in July of a racially-aggravated public order offence, partly helped by the testimony of England and Chelsea team-mate Cole.
However, the commission found that there were discrepancies in Cole's initial statement to FA interviewers of what he heard Ferdinand say to Terry compared to later statements.
Cole did not mention the word 'black' in the initial interview with the FA on October 28. On November 3, Chelsea club secretary David Barnard asked the FA for the specific word 'black' to be inserted into Cole's witness statement, suggesting that Cole may have heard Ferdinand use the term.
The commission saw an email exchange between the FA and Barnard and said that should be regarded as "cogent new evidence".
The commission said: "These highly material issues relating to Mr Cole's evidence were not addressed by the Chief Magistrate - he clearly did not have the interview notes of the FA's interviewers, or Mr Barnard's statement before him - and they do not appear in his judgment.
"Accordingly, that material can and should properly be regarded as cogent new evidence.
"Had it been before him, the commission has no doubt that the Chief Magistrate would have examined Mr Cole's evidence as to what he claims he heard Mr Ferdinand say to Mr Terry on the pitch very carefully indeed, or scrutinised it even more closely than he may have done."
It adds: "All of this causes the commission to have very real concerns about the accuracy of Mr Barnard's recollections, and the motivation for the assertions that he makes in his witness statement about what Mr Cole said during the FA interview of him, particularly his alleged use of the word 'black'."
Ferdinand had suffered "hateful abuse" as a result of the case but had acted with dignity, said the report.
The commission stated: "The victim impact statement of Mr Ferdinand makes it plain that he has been badly affected by the incident. He has been the subject of hateful abuse and adverse comments, but has acted with restraint and dignity."

Go low on goals in Group C

    

Milan have been frustrated at times this season

Zenit, AC Milan, Anderlecht and Malaga can be relied upon to keep the Group C goals tally down on Wednesday says our Ben Coley.
Wednesday night's action in the UEFA Champions League looks rather less predictable than Tuesday's, and none of the favourites make any great appeal.
Yes, Arsenal should be too good for Olympiacos and yes, Schalke could also have far too much quality for Montpellier, but both Group B bankers are accordingly priced.
Instead, we'll head to Group C, a fascinating make-up of Zenit, AC Milan, Anderlecht and Malaga, but one that may not provide much fascination on matchday two.
First up Zenit host Milan in Russia, and their respective coaches Luciano Spalletti and Massimiliano Allegri are already under immense pressure.
Spalletti's Zenit haven't started particularly well in Russia, and having spent millions bringing in Hulk and Axel Witsel from Portuguese sides this summer expectations are perhaps unreasonably high.
They were comprehensively beaten by Malaga on matchday one and although they did offer something going forward, the bottom line is that Zenit lacked cutting edge in the final third.
Milan, meanwhile, are already missing the services of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, failing to score in three of their seven games in all competitions and picking up just six points from a possible 18 at home.
Throw in their failure to score against Anderlecht in the opening round of fixtures, and what you have is a side lacking in attacking confidence who may be set up to take a 0-0 draw from this game. Their reliance on Stephan El Shaarawy is clear and if Zenit can stop him, they can keep a clean sheet.
With that in mind, we'll back under 2.5 goals in a double with the same scenario in Belgium.
Anderlecht have been in free-scoring form domestically, but the Champions League is a different matter altogether and they're likely to approach Malaga with caution.
The Spanish millionaires got off to a perfect start in the competition and should be more than happy to bank on home performances getting them through to the knockout stages, particularly as they travel to Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday.
So far this season, two of their four away games have ended 0-0 and the other two in 1-0 wins, and BetVictor's approximate 9/4 about a pair of low-scoring games looks a solid wager.
In contrast, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund have both been involved in some high-scoring games and an entertaining encounter looks in store at the Etihad.
City have rightly earned a reputation as the toughest side to beat in the Barclays Premier League, and they underlined that with what's now a trademark comeback to beat Fulham on Saturday.
Indeed, you have to go back to September 2011 for the last time anyone managed to beat City by more than a goal, and clearly Dortmund have their hands full.
The German outfit have a squad packed with attacking flair but a 3-3 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt rather underlines how difficult they find it to keep clean sheets on the road, and points don't come easy either.
So far this season, they've suffered defeat at Bayern Munich and Hamburg, with a pair of draws thrown in too, and everything points to a home win of some sort.
For all their undoubted quality going forward, City do share Dortmund's defensive frailties, so there are two bets that interest us: City to concede but win at 11/5, and City to win by exactly a goal at 3/1.
City's last five wins have all involved a goal or more from the opposition, and four have been by exactly a goal - their 3-1 win over QPR is the exception, but even that required a 90th minute goal from Carlos Tevez.
Given that Roberto Mancini's don't look like adding to last year's modest total of three 1-0 wins in all competitions, let alone against a City as strong as Dortmund going forward, the former bet looks safer and gets our vote.