Ferdinand submits statement to FA

QPR’s Anton Ferdinand has submitted a statement to the Football Association regarding alleged racist abuse by Chelsea captain John Terry.

The defender reiterated his ‘strong feelings’ on the matter in his statement to the FA and confirmed he would not be making further comment on the issue until the governing body had concluded its investigation into the incident.

The FA launched a probe on Tuesday into allegations Terry racially abused Ferdinand during last Sunday’s west London derby at Loftus Road.

“Today (October 31) I finalised my statement with the Football Association with regards to the incident that occurred last Sunday at Loftus Road in our Barclays Premier League fixture against Chelsea,” Ferdinand said.

“I have very strong feelings on the matter, but in the interests of fairness and not wishing to prejudice what I am sure will be a very thorough enquiry by the FA, this will be my last comment on the subject until the enquiry is concluded.”

“I would like to thank the club, (chairman) Tony Fernandes, (vice-chairman) Amit Bhatia, (manager) Neil Warnock, the supporters and my fellow professionals for their unwavering support.”

Terry has held firm to his version of events that there was a ‘misunderstanding’ and in a statement claimed he was merely responded to Ferdinand’s accusation that he had uttered a racist slur.

Terry has denied all allegations, previously stating: “I thought Anton was accusing me of using a racist slur against him. I responded aggressively, saying that I never used that term.”

“I would never say such a thing and I’m saddened that people would think so. I have known Anton for a long time and spoke to him about it after the game and there was no problem between us.”

The two player’s version of events differ in that Ferdinand alleges he does not recall any exchange in which he accused the England captain of racially abusing him.

Ferdinand subsequently made a complaint and spoke to the FA last Friday, an action Rangers boss Warnock and Fernandes fully supported.

Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas was in unanimous support of his captain, saying: “All of the players have been quiet about it because we know what happened. Nothing happened, so there is nothing to discuss.”