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Just as the simmering pot that is the John Terry versus Anton Ferdinand race row seemed to have calmed, England manager Roy Hodgson’s ill advised quotes in the buildup to the England versus Italy friendly last Wednesday night has reignited the flame with a vengeance:
“John, hopefully, will be freed as he was freed in a court of law, and will carry on playing for England.”
Cough, splutter, WHAT? Freed from what, exactly, Mr Hodgson? John Terry being held up like an innocent bystander of circumstance just leaves a little distaste in my mouth. I am sure in Hodgson’s mind poor J.T. is a cross between Richard the Lionheart and Andy Dufresne from the Shawshank Redemption, but anyone who follows Terry’s glittering on-field career must be aware of his troubled off the field “issues.”
John Terry has a history of controversial incidents that have blighted his reputation as one of the most commanding centre-backs of a generation. Back in 2001, J.T. was fined two-weeks wages for an “incident” where a group of American tourists were abused and mocked over the September 11th terrorist attacks. If we move on a year, J.T. was banned from England internationals during an investigation into a spot of trouble with a nightclub doorman (which he was cleared of, I may add). You can also count the minor £50 fine for parking in a disabled parking bay or the ridiculous “private tours” of Chelsea’s training ground for money. The Jewel of the crown must be the big one that involved a Super Injunction, a teammate’s wife, and the most publicised hand shake since Regan and Gorbachev.
Maybe J.T. is completely innocent of saying “you black Bast*rd” (and worse) to the brother of his England colleague Rio Ferdinand, and poor John is just a victim of circumstance like all these other incidents. But if I were England’s manager, I think I would just keep my mouth closed and not nail my colours to the mast so publicly.
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