OCT 24 — Tonight (tomorrow, 2.45am), when Arsenal take on Schalke 04 in their third match in Group B of the Champions League, the players and supporters alike would do well to take a moment to thank Chelsea captain John Terry.
It is very likely that the Gunners would not be making this 15th consecutive appearance in the world’s most prestigious club competition if it had not been for Terry and his racist rant in that fateful match against Queens Park Rangers (QPR) one year ago, almost to the day. Let me explain.
Hate him or loathe him, but Terry has finally come out and apologised for the words he directed at QPR defender Anton Ferdinand during the dramatic clash at Loftus Road.
The match played on October 23 last year ended with two red cards for the Blues and QPR holding on to a 10th minute lead for a memorable win. But no one cared about the result shortly after as the allegations of Terry’s racist remarks emerged.
He was eventually hauled to court to face charges after London Metropolitan Police received an anonymous complaint from a member of the public. Following the completion of their investigation, the papers were filed with the Crown Prosecution Service on December 1, and 20 days later, Terry was charged with “racially aggravated public order offence.”
Fast forward to February this year, and the English Football Association (FA) decided to strip Terry of his England captaincy, but not his place in the team, considering the European Championship was coming up in the summer of 2012. This says a lot for the bunch of jokers running football in England.
As a result, Fabio Capello quit as England manager. He claimed he was disappointed that he was not consulted nor was his advice sought on the issue of taking away Terry’s captaincy.
The defender made his court date on July 9, not long after what was admittedly a stellar performance on his part for England at the Euros, held in Poland-Ukraine, in June.
In court, his defence team proved just as good and he came away unscathed. Then the FA decided to charge him. Their ways do not need as much scrutiny and meticulous investigation as that of the UK criminal justice system presumably, and they quickly came to a conclusion to the case 11 months after the original incident.
Terry was found guilty on September 27 and given a four-match ban, besides a £220,000 (RM1.08 million) fine. He still maintained his innocence even up to last Thursday. But in a 180-degree turnaround the next day, after announcing that he will not contest the ban and fine, he made an official apology.
In a statement released last Friday, he said: “After careful consideration, I have decided not to appeal against the FA judgement. I want to take this opportunity to apologise to everyone for the language I used in the game against Queens Park Rangers last October.
“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.”
Note that Terry did not apologise to Anton Ferdinand specifically. What a lame apology it was then, not even mentioning the real aggrieved party. Well, that reveals the true character of the man, bringing his reputation even lower, after the matter of the affair with Wayne Bridge’s partner a few years back.
Anyway, couldn’t he have clarified everything and sorted out this whole mess, while saving the British tax-payers’ money for the police investigation and court case that transpired, by releasing the above statement when the controversy first erupted?
Instead, one year ago, he was quoted as follows: “I have never aimed a racist remark at anyone and count people from all races and creeds among my closest friends. I will fight tooth and nail to prove my innocence. I have campaigned against racism and believe there is no place for it in society.”
Getting back to the Champions League match tonight, if not for all that transpired above — the whole series of events triggered by Terry’s racist remarks — the England manager position would not have been made vacant, and likewise, the ensuing speculation over who will take over, at a crucial point midway through the Premiership season.
As a result, one Harry Redknapp, who in January was leading his Tottenham Hotspur side on the coattails of the two Manchester clubs, took his eye off the Premiership as he was busy fantasising over the England job instead.
Spurs lost five matches, drew three and won only three during the period between Capello’s resignation (February 8) and the appointment of Roy Hodgson as the new England manager (May 1). That is a mere 12 points out of a total of 33 points that was up for grabs. By comparison, they had only lost three of their previous 24 matches.
This only made it easier for Arsenal to make up lost ground from the dismal start to the 2011-12 season, and eventually take the coveted third place and automatic qualification into the Champions League by a single point over their North London rivals, who recovered some lost momentum to finish fourth.
Chelsea then compounded Spurs’ misery by winning the Champions League, thus relegating Spurs to the Europa League.
So, John Terry, racist or not, your contribution to Arsenal’s achievement last season is most appreciated by fans, players and directors alike as the Gunners also await a sizeable income from reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League this season.
They are already in a sound position after two wins out of two matches played. Hence, I believe that Arsene Wenger’s men should make it three out of three at The Emirates tonight, en route to topping Group B.
* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.
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