• Manchester United Message Board

  • Robert M Robert M Dec 21, 2011 14:43 Flag

    Terry to be prosecuted...

    If the police and CPS are to get involved like this, should they also investigate every act of physical assault on the pitch?


    SortNewest  |  Oldest  |  Most Replied Expand all replies
    • No, I didn't say that. I said I thought it was less serious than being deliberately, repeatedly provocatively racist.

      People should control their tempers and their words. It's what socialisation of little boys is all about.


    • So, you think it's ok to be momentarily racist ?

    • "If Terry is found guilty he has to be given the same punishment as Suarez"

      I think it likely that Terry would be given the same punishment and I would have no complaints if he was. But I don't see that it is necessary. What we know about the two cases suggests that Terry's misdemeanour was a once-off, probably through temporarily losing his temper. Suarez's abuse appears to be pre-meditated, repeated and calculated at upsetting Evra. That would seem to me to be rather more serious.

      If you read the report into the United-Chelsea mess at SB in 2008 you'll see that the panel deliberated plenty of subtlety like this and I expect FA reports into these two cases to be as thorough.

      The suggestion that punishments for offences have to be the same to avoid complaints of racism really shouldn't stand up. Punishments should fit the crime, and not be determined by racial background. If a punishment for crime B is set higher to be the same as the punishment for crime A purely because offender B is English but offender A is not, that is in itself racist.


    • Two aspects of the timing of this are curious.

      First, the CPS chose to announce the intended prosecution the day after the Suarez announcement. This may or may not be coincidence (I'm inclined to think someone got a rocket up their backside when they realised the Suarez verdict was due). Either way, Suarez's ban being fresh in people's minds is likely to prejudice thinking about Terry. I think the CPS should have been more careful than this.

      Second, the court system in this country is extreeeeemely slow. I notice there is a hearing in March. I would guess that if Terry pleads not guilty then the full hearing would be held later. Given the general speed of the courts (in non-riot times) this is likely to be months later. Very likely it would be after Euro 2012. If Capello stands by his word that Terry is innocent until proven guilty and so has no reason to lose the England captaincy it would follow that he would still be England captain for Euro 2012 whereas if there was an earlier guilty judgement it would seem likely he would lose the England captaincy.

      But that could be completely wrong. The racist ranting woman on the train has already been through the courts, although her case was rather more urgent.


    • If I Remember Correctly

      I didn't quite. But the thrust of it was correct. Don't you think Keane's pre-meditated physical assault was rather more worthy of police concern than Terry's alleged abuse?


    • Indeed. Well said.


    • There's rather a lot of anecdotal evidence that the police do not take very seriously everything reported to them by the public...

      Even if they did feel the need to follow this up I would have thought good old fashioned bobbying would have been to have a quiet word with him about the advisability of keeping his temper and a lid on his language. Maybe even issue a caution. But the exceptionalism of it does seem to suggest a motive for prosecution related to Terry's fame.


    • The difference between Terry and Suarez is that a complaint was made to the police and they have a duty to investigate.I think, although I`m not 100% sure, that no complaint means no investigation. For the CPS the decision to prosecute is based not on how many times racial abuse occurs but whether there is a reasonable chance that it can be proved in court. Here the existence of tv footage which appears to show Terry using racist language would in the eyes of the CPS increase the chances of a conviction. As for the fa I think here again how many times racist comennts are made is irrelevant, once is enough. If Terry is found guilty he has to be given the same punishment as Suarez, anything less would open the fa itself to an accusation of racism with one rule for English players and another for those from overseas.

    • Robert, I am confused by why this has gone to the Police. i think its a very different case to that of Suarez. In that match Suarez repeated his terminology many times and it was this persistent use of the word(s) which persuaded the 'jury' that it was not a mistake given cultural differences, but an attempt to deliberately to abuse. However Terry appears to have 'exploded' in a single unfortunate episode. How many of us can honestly say we haven't done the same sort of thing once or twice? Rap over the knuckles, maybe a fine and a match suspension to make it clear its not acceptable behaviour. But a Police action? Totally out of context in my humble opinion.

    • A member of the public complained so the police were duty bound to follow the complaint up.

      This has happened several times before, although probably not in a racist context.

    • View More Messages