Joey Barton’s reaction to the FA’s handling of the John Terry racial abuse case
A series of Tweets from Joey Barton on the John Terry racial abuse saga has England’s Attorney General breathing hard down his neck. Barton’s tweets summed up:
“This John Terry saga, has turned into one of the most hideously managed spectacles I have ever known. WTF is going on…… We all know what was said. Its there on TV for all to see. Do I think hes a racist? No. I think hes said something really stupid in the heat of battle/argument. This should of been dealt with instantly (Like Suarez or more games) and put to bed. The longer it goes on, the worse it is for the game. Racism needs to be stamped out. We all agree on that. This is now affecting England as well as those involved.”
” Once the issue went out of the FA’s control, it was always going to get messy. They should have dealt with it instantly. Now its a farce..”
After Barton got wind of the AG’s investigation of his tweets, he said he welcomed being a martyr for free speech.
” What is the point of living, if you cannot express your opinion. Not having an opinion is not living, its surviving. “
We dismiss Barton because he really is a tiresome individual who devotes his energies to 140 word soundbytes as if they matter rather than focusing on QPR’s chances of remaining promoted. But on this he is absolutely right. And it his team mate who’s in the eye of the storm waiting another five months for closure. There are definitely double standards being applied here.
The FA dropped the ball in the first place by failing to investigate John Terry when they should have done the same as they did with Suarez which allowed Terry to escape similar punitive measures. When Fabio Capello announced Terry as England’s captain, they kicked the can down by deferring the case till after the Euro 2012 on the convenient presumption of innocent until proven guilty. This is legalese which did not sit well in the locker room if Rio Ferdinand’s furious reaction is anything to go by. The FA did some retroactive damage control by nixing Terry’s captaincy but it is now in a collision course with the England manager who is unhappy with all the second guessing. More salient is Terry’s form. At this point does he really deserve a spot in the English side with his dastardly displays?