Chelsea captain, John Terry squares off with Anton Ferdinand

BBC

Chelsea captain John Terry has been banned for four matches and fined £220,000 for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.

The Football Association found Terry guilty following a four-day hearing.

A statement from Terry's management said he was "disappointed" the FA reached a "different conclusion" to the "not guilty verdict of a court of law".

In July, the ex-England captain, 31, was cleared by Westminster Magistrates' Court of racially abusing Ferdinand.

The Terry statement continued: "He has asked for the detailed written reasons of the decision and will consider them carefully before deciding whether to lodge an appeal."

Terry will have 14 days from receiving the written reasons to decide whether to lodge an appeal. The ban and fine will not come into effect until after the centre-half has decided what to do.

A statement from his club added: "Chelsea Football Club notes and respects today's decision by the Football Association regarding John Terry.

"We also recognise that John has the right to appeal that decision. It is therefore inappropriate for us to comment further on the matter at this time."

The FA charged Terry in July with using abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour towards Ferdinand and which included a reference to colour and/or race contrary to FA Rule E3[2].

Terry admitted using the word "black" and swearing at Ferdinand but insisted he had only been repeating words he thought the Rangers defender had accused him of saying.

The FA's decision to press ahead with their own charges caused Terry to announce he was retiring from international football with immediate effect, saying his position was "untenable".

Terry's legal team argued the governing body's own rules dictated that his acquittal in court meant the case could not proceed but the FA believed their charge was distinct from the court charge.

Liverpool striker, Luis Suarez was given an eight-match ban when an FA disciplinary panel found him guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra last season.

The panel declared at that time that simply using racist language was enough to constitute a breach of FA rules.