PFA call for players to be sent off for X-rated rants at each other

Chairman Clarke Carlisle urges FA to act to clean up the image of the game after Terry court case

The fallout from the John Terry court case looks likely to bring major changes to English football, with the players' union yesterday calling for their own members to receive red cards if they use foul and abusive language to each other. As the Football Association considered whether to charge the Chelsea captain and QPR's Anton Ferdinand with bringing the game into disrepute for their expletive-ridden language, Clarke Carlisle urged them to consider major changes to the sanctions for swearing.

Carlisle, the chairman of the Professional Footballers Association, told The Independent: "At present a red card for foul and abusive language is only shown when a player abuses match officials. What the FA should is do is order referees to show the red card even when players abuse each other."

Terry was cleared of racially abusing Ferdinand on Friday. However, the case revealed the extent of the abusive language used by both players during last season's match at Loftus Road.

Carlisle admits: "For a period this will cause mayhem, but there can be no progress without a struggle. Players use language to get a competitive edge in an act of oneupmanship and you cannot expect players to be saints. But the FA need to act to clean up the image of the game. They have to set the tone."

The PFA failed to mediate between the players and while Ashley Cole, Chelsea's most prominent black player, gave evidence in support of Terry, Carlisle does not deny that the case divided his union, often along racial lines. "When there is a racist allegation it is going to polarise opinion," he said. "But that is not just in football, that is true of society as a whole."

This case, coming in the wake of the FA finding Liverpool's Luis Suarez guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra, has also refocused attention on race. It makes, says Paul Elliott, Chelsea's first black captain, the FA inquiry into the case crucial. "Not withstanding that John Terry has been cleared in a criminal court the FA must see if any rules of football have been violated. We thought racism had been eradicated. It has only been managed."

Not many black players want to talk openly about this. But Brendan Batson, who as player suffered much racial abuse in the bad days of the Eighties, and is now an FA consultant and chairman of the quango Sporting Equals, who promote ethnic diversity, acknowledges: "There is a lot of unhappiness and frustration among the current crop of black players at the lack of progress since black players began to be integrated in the Seventies.

"Kick It Out have been going since 1993 and we have seen advancement on the pitch. What we have not seen is the same rate of advancement off the pitch."

All this suggests the game is still to come to terms with the ramifications of the Terry case, with the proposed FA inquiry assuming much significance.

Meanwhile the row reignited on Twitter last night after Ashley Cole was accused in a tweet to Rio Ferdinand of being a "choc ice" – commonly understood to mean "black on the outside, white on the inside".

The tweeter wrote: "Looks like Ashley Cole's going to be their choc ice. Then again he's always been a sell out. Shame on him."

Manchester United defender Rio replied: "I hear you fella! Choc ice is classic! ha ha ha ha ha ha!!"

As users began commenting, Ferdinand added: "And if I want to laugh at something someone tweets... I will! Ha ha ha ha ha! Now stop getting ya knickers in a twist!"

Cole later said in a statement through his lawyers: "Ashley Cole wishes to make it clear that he and Rio Ferdinand are good friends and Ashley has no intention of making any sort of complaint.

"Ashley appreciates that Tweeting is so quick it often results in off-hand and stray comments."

Follow Mihir Bose on Twitter: twitter.com/@mihirbose

Caption competition
Caption competition
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Sport blogs

New day (slowly) rising – As Brasileirão gets underway, Brazilian football stumbles, rather than leaps into the future

The average Serie A crowd last year was 13,000 - comparable to Australia’s A-League.

by James Young

iBet: Mercedes and Hamilton to roar in Monaco

Monaco is a street circuit where driver ability is more important than anywhere else and if we take ...

by Gareth Purnell

On The Road at the Giro d’Italia: It sounds sadistic, but the team live for the mountain stages

Three weeks ago as I drove off the Eurostar, I remember thinking what a very long time it was until ...

by Martin Ayres

       

Day In a Page

James Pembroke: The man who's eaten everywhere

The man who's eaten everywhere

Few people know more about restaurants than James Pembroke, who only spent five mealtimes at home during his entire childhood.
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

The young JFK praised 'superior' Nordic races during visits to Germany
Banned Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof to attend Cannes Film Festival 2013, his first public appearance since prison

Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival

Mohammad Rasoulof to make his first public appearance since being imprisoned three years ago
Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

An exhibition explores images how photography has shaped astronomy
Eat Spam and carry on: Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Eat Spam and carry on

Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating
Facial hair: Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence

Facial hair

Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

Whether they're for everyday use or to make your dining table look just right, it's worth getting a stylish shaker...
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Chief executive says trophies will come if a 'core' of suitable players is in place
Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

The Bayern Munich forward tells Tim Rich his side have to shed chokers' tag after two recent final defeats
Giro d'Italia: The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

As the Giro d'Italia tackles the brutal climb, Simon Usborne takes on the snow and switchbacks – and soon realises what the fuss is about
National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again