LONDON (AFP)
Former England football captain John Terry said he suffered
continual abuse during football matches but was not prepared to
put up with being branded a racist, his trial heard Tuesday.
Westminster Magistrates' Court in London was played a recording
of an interview between Chelsea skipper Terry and an investigator
from the Football Association (FA), the sport's governing body in
England.
The central defender is accused of using a racist slur against
Queens Park Rangers player Anton Ferdinand during a match between
Chelsea and QPR on October 23 last year.
The 31-year-old denies committing a racially aggravated public
order offence.
A week after the incident, Terry was called in for an interview
with FA investigator Jennifer Kennedy.
"I have been called a lot of things in my football career and off
the pitch, but being called a racist I am not prepared to take,"
the court heard Terry saying on the tape.
"That's why I came out and made my statement immediately.
"I am not having Anton thinking that about me or anyone else."
He told the investigator he was repeating back to Ferdinand what
he believed the QPR defender he had said to him.
He said he thought Ferdinand was accusing him of calling him
those words.
"I was taken aback by that. I have never been accused of that,"
he said.
Tuesday is the second day of Terry's trial, which is expected to
last five days.
