TERRY FINALLY SAYS SORRY AND ACCEPTS HIS BAN AND FINE

John Terry has finally said sorry for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand and has accepted the four game ban and £220,000 fine from the FA. 
By accepting the ban it means he will miss two games against Rio Ferdinand's Manchester United.
Terry had until 6pm on Thursday to appeal the four-match ban imposed on him for racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand, but decided against it.
It means he will miss he will miss Saturday's game with Tottenham as well as the clash with Manchester United on October 28 and then the Capital One Cup clash between the two sides three days later. Chelsea's trip to Swansea will be the final game of his suspension.
In a statement Terry said: 'After careful consideration, I have decided not to appeal against the FA judgment.

GAMES TERRY WILL MISS

Tottenham (Premier League A) - October 20
Man United (Premier League H) - October 28
Man United (Capital One Cup H) - October 31
Swansea (Premier League A) - November 3

'I want to take this opportunity to apologise to everyone for the language I used in the game against Queens Park Rangers last October.
'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.
'As I stated in the criminal case, with the benefit of hindsight my language was clearly not an appropriate reaction to the situation for someone in my position.
'My response was below the level expected by Chelsea Football Club, and by me, and it will not happen again.

'Looking forward, I will continue to do my part in assisting the club to remove all types of discriminatory behaviour from football.
'I am extremely grateful for the consistent support of Chelsea FC, the fans and my family.'
His decision to accept the ban means he will avoid coming face-to-face with his former England team-mate and Anton's brother, Rio, in the pre-match handshakes.
The Chelsea captain and his advisers had two weeks to study the full written reasons of the decision by an FA independent regulatory commission.

Terry, who was also fined £220,000, was told by the panel that his defence 'improbable, implausible and contrived'.

Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor earlier called for Terry to accept the punishment.

Taylor said: 'I would like the situation to be ended and people learn from it and move on.

'It is a decision for John and his advisers but my preference would be now to accept what has gone on, and that things were said which shouldn't have been said.
'Sorry is the hardest word to say but we have got to learn from it and move on.
'To get reconciliation, people have to accept what they have done is wrong, and there has to be some reconciliation because it is causing the game to implode from within. It has caused division among black players and among white players.'

Those within the game will also be studying Chelsea's response closely - the club said they would wait until the end of the legal process before commenting.

They have however defended club secretary Dave Barnard whose actions in asking for a significant change to an Ashley Cole statement backing Terry's version of events was questioned by the panel.
Terry was accused of calling Ferdinand a "f****** black c***" in the 83rd minute of Chelsea's defeat at Loftus Road last October.
The panel said the Chelsea captain, 31, 'is not a racist' but were 'satisfied' his comments were used as an insult. The three-man panel said there was 'no credible basis' for Terry's claim he had only been repeating words he thought QPR defender Ferdinand had accused him of saying.

- Daily Mail