John Terry's father cleared

London - A court has cleared the father of Chelsea captain John Terry following allegations that he head-butted an Asian man and hurled a racist insult at him in a dispute over a cigarette.

A jury at the Old Bailey in London found Edward Terry not guilty on Friday of racially aggravated common assault and racially aggravated fear or provocation of violence during a night out on March 22 last year.

Terry was accused of assaulting and verbally abusing a man because he didn't offer him a cigarette, and then allegedly racially abusing a cleaner at a railway station in central London on the same night. He had denied the charges.

John Terry, a former England captain, was banned for four matches in September 2012 for racially abusing an opponent during a Premier League game.