Former Chelsea captain John Terry has claimed that he reached out to both Rio Ferdinand and his brother Anton after allegations of racist abuse in 2011.
During a Premier League game between Chelsea and Queen's Park Rangers in October 2011, Terry was accused of calling Anton Ferdinand a "f****** black c***."
The former England international was hit with a four-game ban and £220,000 fine by the FA for his behaviour.
In a recent documentary, Football, Racism & Me, Anton Ferdinand revisited the incident and explained that John Terry opted not to take up his offer of explaining his actions on film.
"It’s disappointing to read and hear that I’ve never reached out," remarked Terry in an interview with The Times. "I tried to phone Rio and Anton on numerous occasions, literally the same night [as the game], the day after and that week after the incident.
"Then about three, four years ago I see Rio on the beach in Dubai, so I approached him and said, ‘Have you got five minutes? I’d like to talk to you.’
"He was like, ‘I don’t want to talk to you, JT.’ I was prepared to address the issue."
"In the lead-up to the programme my legal team had contact with the producers with the view to communicate but they were very evasive with the content and what they were trying to achieve.
"It was a lot bigger than it should have been for me. We could have dealt with the issue. I was very keen to get that done."
Queens Park Rangers' Anton Ferdinand looks on as Chelsea's John Terry covers his mouth during the 2011 match.Almost a decade after the incident took place, Terry remains adamant that he is not a racist and has suffered in light of the fallout from this event.
"Racism is unacceptable," he stated. "It’s been ten years now, then to see the documentary and being made to look the bad guy in there . . . It’s done. There’s a line in the sand drawn.
"Do I regret what happened? Anton can have his opinion. You’ll have yours. My opinion is very clear, I was not guilty in the court of law which is the biggest form of our law in our country. No higher.
"I was prepared to go to the Euros [in 2012] on the basis that when found not guilty [in court] the FA would follow suit and that would be the end of it. I
"I went to the Euros, had a fantastic tournament individually, came back, found not guilty, only to receive a phone call to say that the FA was now proceeding."
At this point, Terry reflected on the conclusion of his international career and an opportunity he felt he was denied.
"I was getting more angry with how I was dealt with," he admitted. "I can’t give everything to the FA that haven’t given me everything, so that’s why I decided to retire.
"England was everything to me. That’s the only regret, that I didn’t reach 100 caps [he has 78]... When you see Lamps there with his kids [celebrating his 100th cap at Wembley], I’m going, ‘I’ve missed an opportunity there with my kids.’
"Yes. Of course [I have sympathy for Anton]. He’s had some tough times but I’ve also had some tough times."
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