The FA, and how to solve a problem like John Terry.

I find it ironic that the FA are concerned about difficulties that arise
from a procedure taking far longer than it should. However I think
they're right to want to resolve this.





If I were the FA I'd just get on with their own investigation, examine all the evidence themselves and then make a decision on whether and how to punish him. They should be able to manage it within a couple of months, if they really want to. If they can't be bothered to do it properly, then the next best thing is just to suspend him until after his trial. Ok that does mean "innocent until proven guilty" issues, but only in regards to what he said, and as I'm about to explain, there's a lot more to the JT problem than that.






Also the legal side of this is tiny. Rightly or wrongly, it's not seen as a
massive crime and would only lead to a fine that Terry wouldn't notice.
It's only the football side of this that would affect him. It's the FA's
decision and verdict that really matters.




Personally, my view is that Terry's profile as a club and national
captain, role model, and well-supported person means, people will
copy him, follow him and want to be him. Anton Ferdinand didn't get
chants, death threats, hate mail and a bullet just because other people
are racist too. He got those things because other people who have
racist views also look up to Terry. Terry MUST take responsibility for
everything done in his name.





Just as Joey Barton was unwise to give Bradley Johnson his
opportunity, Terry should not have been shouting anything at Ferdinand
that might get him into trouble (and on that note, "blind c**t", while
not racist, is certainly not an acceptable thing to say when you're the
captain of a high profile football club and your national team, not that
it makes the slightest bit of sense that he would have said that to
anyone but the referee, nor that Terry's own statement
corroborates the idea that that's what he said).





Terry's also done very little to redeem himself on the leadership front.
He said in his initial statement a few things about being against racism,
but did he once speak out against the fans who were singing racist
chants in misguided support of him, or against those who were sending
stuff to Ferdinand in the post? Did he during all the handshake fuss
express any view that he was desperately trying to clear things up
with Ferdinand and make things as easy as possible for him? No, he just
kept quiet and let things happen, and by things, I mean racist things said
and done in support of him. He allowed them to continue because it
stroked his ego and because he didn't mind them being racist.








If people did racist things in an attempt to benefit me, I would not
shut up about it! That is why the FA should ban him from football
altogether. That is why he's racist. Not because of what he may or
may not have said, but because of what has come of it, allowed by
him to carry on in his name, from people who follow him. And let's not
forget the original incident took place on Kick It Out weekend, and he's
the England Captain. The FA also need to be sending a clear message to FIFA that they know what to do about racism, because if we're going to get it cleared up globally, we have to demonstrate that we know how to do it in our own country first. It goes way way beyond something said by one man to another and a £2500 fine. This is a football matter, much
more than a legal one, and an enormous one at that.