John Terry has revealed that Rio Ferdinand once blanked him on a beach in Dubai after the ex-Chelsea captain had been accused of being racist to his brother, Anton.
The allegation was made by Anton following a game between Chelsea and QPR at Loftus Road in 2011. The ex-England captain, 43, was charged over the incident, but was cleared in court.
Terry has always denied abusing the ex-QPR centre back, but was hit with a four-match ban and fined £220,000 by the Football Association following the incident.
The former Chelsea defender, who was also inducted into the Premier League’s Hall of Fame this week, recounted how he has subsequently tried to clear the air with Anton’s brother Rio while speaking on William Hill’s Up Front With Simon Jordan Podcast.
‘Since then I’ve tried to speak to Rio, who doesn’t want to talk to me at all,’ Terry said, when asked by Jordan on how he reflects on the incident.
Ex-Chelsea captain John Terry revealed that Rio Ferdinand blanked him on a beach in Dubai
Ferdinand, pictured with his partner Kate in Dubai, called Terry an ‘idiot’ in his autobiography
‘I’ve seen him on the beach in Dubai and he refused to speak to me. I think it could have been addressed and dealt with a lot better if I’m honest.
‘But he [Anton] went through a very difficult time, like I did, and the outcome was the outcome in the court of law. And the other one, the FA one, I don’t really pay too much attention too.’
Terry was alleged to have called Anton a ‘f****** black c***’ with video footage circulating online.
The ex-Chelsea defender had claimed that he said to Ferdinand: ‘Oi, Anton, do you think I called you a black c***?’
The game took place in October with Terry being charged for using racist language by the CPS in December.
His trial started in July 2012 and he pleaded not guilty before being acquitted. The FA then charged him for using ‘abusive and/or insulting words or behaviour’ which ‘included a reference to the ethnic origin and or race of Ferdinand’.
The five-time Premier League winner opted not to appeal the decision and subsequently apologised for the ‘language used’.
In a statement, Terry said: ‘After careful consideration, I have decided not to appeal against the FA judgment.
He added: ‘Although I’m disappointed with the FA judgment, 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.’
Terry and his partner Toni have enjoyed several holidays to Dubai over the years
Ferdinand and Kate enjoyed a trip to Dubai in 2018 posting several images of themselves on Instagram on social media
It came after Terry (left) was accused of racially abusing Ferdinand’s brother Anton (right)
Terry told Jordan that he wished the incident had been handled better and that ‘we could have done something very powerful to stop racism as a group of players’
Terry has recently posted photographs of himself and his wife Toni on holiday in Dubai
Terry had previously spoken publicly on the incident during a BBC documentary, ‘Football, Racism and Me’ which was released in 2021.
Here Terry claimed that he had spoken to Rio in Dubai, saying: ‘have you got five minutes? I’d like to talk to you’, with the ex-Man United defender responding, ‘I don’t want to talk to you JT.’
Rio, meanwhile, has previously blasted Terry for how he has handled the racism case, calling him ‘the biggest idiot’ in his autobiography released in 2014.
Terry added during his interview with Jordan that he had also attempted to speak to Anton about the incident in 2011.
‘I tried to make contact with Anton that evening after the game. I tried to make contact with Rio and their agent after the game. And I basically got shut down instantly from all of them.
‘I knew Anton, we were mates, we knew each other and always got on well. Obviously, I got on well with Rio. We could have done something that was more powerful than what came about in the end. And that’s probably my disappointment because it’s [racism] is in the game.
‘Clearly in the stadiums and all of that now that we need to get out for sure. We could have done something very powerful as a group of players, not only us but everybody else I think at the time.’
Terry revealed during a previous interview that he had asked Ferdinand if he had a few minutes to chat on the beach in Dubai
Terry was subsequently fined £220,000 by the FA for the incident back in 2011
Ferdinand, who played for QPR between 2011 and 2013, denied that Terry had tried to reach out to him
Ferdinand posted a Tweet that said ‘the door was still open to chat’ and asked Terry to call him
The former Chelsea defender was also this week inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame
Ferdinand, meanwhile, has previously responded to previous comments from Terry that he had reached out to him, denying that the ex-Chelsea defender had been in touch.
He wrote in a tweet in 2021: ‘I never received a call personally from JT prior to the documentary or during the process.
As I stated on the doc, the door is still open to have a conversation if he’s serious about racism in football & wanting to create positive change.
‘Call me then JT?’
