Ferdinand on Terry ban: 'Footage don't lie'

Anton Ferdinand has broken his silence after John Terry was found guilty of using racist language towards him, declaring: “Footage don’t lie!”

Ferdinand hit out at abuse he claimed to have received on Twitter since Terry was handed a four-match ban and £220,000 fine by an independent Football Association panel over the pair’s altercation almost a year ago.

On a serious note people need 2 read the facts before they send stupid tweets 2 me with liar and grass in it footage don't lie!

— Anton Ferdinand (@anton_ferdinand) September 28, 2012

Ferdinand’s comment that "footage don't lie" is assumed to refer to the video footage that appeared to show Chelsea captain Terry using the words “f****** black c***” towards him during last October’s west London derby at Loftus Road.

Terry was cleared in July by Westminster Magistrates Court of uttering the words as an insult, but that did not prevent him being found guilty under FA rules on Thursday.

Terry, who has always denied all charges against him, is still deciding whether to appeal that verdict and indicated on Thursday he would wait until he was in receipt of the written judgement before making that decision.

Chelsea refused to answer questions on Terry’s ban at their press conference yesterday afternoon to preview today‘s Barclays Premier League game at Arsenal.

Head of communications Steve Atkins made that clear in a statement beforehand, insisting the club did not want to prejudice any appeal.

That did not prevent manager Roberto Di Matteo being quizzed on the subject, but Atkins repeatedly interjected, most notably when the Italian was asked about the club’s policy on players found guilty of using racist language.

Di Matteo did confirm that Terry was fit and available for today‘s match and would continue to captain the club if picked.