TERRY'S IN TROUBLE..

Apparently the title of being the England captain these days comes with little regard for that players action; and therefore the consequences of these actions. In this case, a certain Mr Terry is back in the headlines under an alleged 'racism row'. Even his own team mates have now failed to defend him. 'Oops' doesn't quite cover it.

To reiterate what you probably already know, Mr Terry uttered some very potty language at a mixed race player during the much heated West London derby that Chelsea recently played against Queens Park Rangers. Now, I don't personally know Anton Ferdinand, but I'm guessing he's neither 'black' nor a 'c***'? He's brown and a football player, as a matter of fact. Although in many other cases this wouldn't even be an issue, as I’m certain racism takes place a lot more than people are willing to admit in any sport; after all in the heat of a sporting moment and being under such pressure some simple minded buffoons often have no other insult to throw at another human other than to mock their ethnicity or background, step forward Mr John Terry; this was caught on camera, for once technology has supported football (much to the probable misery of a certain Sepp Blatter who believed there is no place for technology in football). A choice few television cameras caught the Chelsea captain remarking the slur and he is easily seen mouthing the words. Since the event these videos have circulated around the global web and diffused their way onto many avid sports fans computer screens.

The most shocking thing about this whole fiasco is that Terry is supposed to represent the country's football as a whole. From the teenagers in Bristol playing 'heads and volleys' on a road, to every professional player representing the Premier League, John Terry is meant to be an aspiration, something to look up to. He represents the pinnacle of English football, a leader of all within the sport of this country. I can imagine a few players that are now questioning this alleged leadership, and for very feasible reasons. Most of us know the England set up now contains an almost equal set of both black and white players, in fact in the most recent squad; ten out of the twenty-five players are of other ethnic origin and heritage. This is therefore representative of the level of multiculturalism within football today, and thus Terry citing these alleged comments simply undermines the level that English football has now achieved in regard to respect for players of all ethnic backgrounds. For football is surely about ability, not race.

Yes, he may now not deserve the captaincy of England, nor of Chelsea and in some ways it's surprising that his own players have not yet come forward about the matter. Especially after the three Queens Park Rangers players coming forward to present evidence against Terry; 'trouble' doesn't quite cover it, if found guilty Terry faces obvious fines and possible police enquiries. The main result, however will be the fact his career will be left in complete tatters; as if the previous breakthrough of his affair with the partner of former team mate Wayne Bridge was not enough, he may now have utterly plunged himself top of the list of 'most shameful' footballers in the eyes of many fans.

In all colours, shapes and views we want football to continue to be beautiful, the 'beautiful game' and yet with such individuals tarnishing it, it is almost inevitable that at the moment in time football has taken a giant leap backwards with regard to equality in the game. The worst part of it is that Terry may seem to be in trouble, but his £120,000 a week wage probably won't suffer too much. Poor lad.