I'm not defending terry IMO he should have banned for life just for being a vile scrote anyway
John Terry and Ashley Cole have shamed Chelsea and England | Observer editorial | Football | The Observer
(would copy and paste the whole article but it contains swear words and googleads don't like them, the gist...)
[...]
How would most major private or public institutions react if one of their leading figures – say, the chief executive – was found guilty by an independent commission of saying, in public to a competitor, [...]
They would sack them.
If Chelsea – who have said they will wait to see if Terry appeals before making clear their intentions and on Saturday confirmed there will be a "disciplinary process" with Ashley Cole – choose not to do that, what reasons will they – and their owner, Roman Abramovich – give for not taking this course of action? Are they happy their captain has been found guilty of lying? Are they happy that he uses the phrase [...] in public? Are they happy for this man to be their captain?
To be their leader? Really?
Are Chelsea fans happy to have their team led by a man who uses a racist insult? Will Chelsea fans – and with social media there are many opportunities for them to find their voice, how about #sackjohnterrynow? – signal their disapproval of their "leader"? Because if they don't, then how can they take a credible stand on racism in public life ever again? They can't. There is no reason for being equivocal about racism.
And what of Chelsea's commercial partners and sponsors such as Samsung? Are they happy that their brand is represented by a team leader who says to an opponent [...]? They shouldn't be and they should use their considerable influence to demand that he plays no further part in any association with their brand.
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Chelsea have been shamed by this incident. They have been shamed by John Terry and Ashley Cole. For those of us who love football it is dispiriting, depressing and disgusting to see how football (including the FA who were also criticised by the independent commission) has dealt so ineptly with this Terry affair. And not just this incident. Who can forget Liverpool's lamentable response to the Luis Suárez incident last year?
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Racism is vile and malevolent and has blighted many people's lives. It continues to do so, although great strides have been taken to reduce its incidence. Only racists and intellectual Neanderthals would need convincing that society has to adopt a zero tolerance approach to incidences of racism, or racist insults. And that includes football.
As one writer noted on Saturday: "Most footballers get through the day without uttering a racist remark." In fact, most of us get through the day without uttering a racist remark.
Terry and Cole are an embarrassment to football, to Chelsea and to England. The club – and just as importantly, their supporters – need to be seen to understand that clearly. And react accordingly