Former Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand has spoken for the first time about the pain he endured after being racially abused by John Terry, saying he hated football for a long time as a result of the incident. In an interview to coincide with a new BBC documentary, Ferdinand revealed he has ‘kicked and beaten’ himself up for years for staying silent.
The abuse occurred during a Premier League match in October 2011, when Terry called Ferdinand a ‘fucking black cunt’. Terry lost the England captaincy as a result but was not found guilty of a racially aggravated public order offence in court. Ferdinand’s documentary, Football, Racism and Me, follows the rise in reported racial abuse in football, which Kick It Out said increased by 53% in the 2019-20 season among professionals.
Ferdinand said his decision to remain quiet about the incident took a heavy toll on his personal life and career. He received death threats and bullets in the post, and his seven-year-old son asked why photographs of Ferdinand and Terry appear when searching his name online. ‘I loved playing football, but I hated what it stood for,’ Ferdinand said.
The former West Ham and Sunderland player also revealed that his white mother and black father wanted him to speak out publicly but that legal advice prevented him. His mother had herself suffered racial abuse in the 1980s, being spat on while pushing a pram containing baby Anton. ‘She educated herself and made me aware that I would be treated differently because of the colour of my skin,’ he said.
Ferdinand said he now wants to educate his own children about racism, though he believes attitudes have improved. ‘It’s our job as parents to make sure it stays that way,’ he added. The documentary, which also features his brother Rio and his father, will be broadcast on BBC One on Monday next week.
