English Premiership
Ferdinand set to snub Terry
2012-04-26 14:18
Anton Ferdinand (Gallo Images)
|
London - QPR defender Anton Ferdinand is expected to snub Chelsea defender John Terry's pre-match handshake this weekend following racism allegations involving the players, it was reported on Thursday.
The Daily Mail reported that Ferdinand would shun Terry's handshake if it was offered to him following legal advice.
Terry is facing a July 9 court case over allegations that he racially abused Ferdinand during QPR's victory over Chelsea in October. Terry, who lost the England captaincy over the issue, has strongly denied wrongdoing.
The Football Association cancelled handshakes when QPR faced Chelsea in the FA Cup in January, but the Premier League is adamant that the ritual will go ahead in Sunday's game at Stamford Bridge.
The Mail reported that Ferdinand had taken advice from lawyers as well as the Crown Prosecution Service.
The report said the defender had been advised that either shaking or refusing to shake Terry's hand could both have implications for the looming court case.
Premier League chief Richard Scudamore last month said the handshakes, introduced in 2004, would remain part of the game.
"It's not a handshake that says everybody loves everybody else," Scudamore said. It's a handshake that says 'whatever crap's gone on before now and whatever crap will go on after this game is over, for the next 90 minutes, let's just play a game of football'.
"It's nothing more symbolic than that, which is why in our view, they should continue - period."