Ferdinand: 'Choc ice' barb against Cole is 'not racist'

The key players in the racism row, John Terry, Ashley Cole and Rio Ferdinand sit on the bench for England at the 2010 World Cup (Getty Images)

The fallout from John Terry's court case showed no signs of abating yesterday when Rio Ferdinand was forced to defend his response to a tweet which referred to Ashley Cole as a "choc ice", insisting it was not a racist term. The Manchester United defender said the term was slang for "someone who is being fake".

Ferdinand, right, reacted with laughter on Twitter at the weekend after being sent a tweet which accused Cole, who was a defence witness in the Terry racism trial, of being a "choc ice". The term is commonly understood to mean "black on the outside, white on the inside".

The tweet said: "Looks like Ashley Cole's going to be their choc ice. Then again he's always been a sell out. Shame on him." Ferdinand replied: "I hear you fella! Choc ice is classic! hahahahahahha!!"

Users began discussing the comments and Ferdinand wrote: "And if I want to laugh at something someone tweets....I will! Hahahahaha! Now stop getting ya knickers in a twist!"

Ferdinand's initial comment has now been deleted from his Twitter account, but the 33-year-old did speak about the issue yesterday morning. He tweeted: "What I said yesterday is not a racist term. Its a type of slang term used by many for someone who is being fake. So there."

The comments reignited the Terry racism row, two days after the Chelsea defender was cleared of a racially aggravated public order offence at Westminster magistrates' court. It was alleged that Terry had maliciously called Rio's brother Anton – a Queen's Park Rangers defender – a "f****** black c***" during a match on 23 October last year.

Cole, 31, had told the trial that Terry, his Stamford Bridge captain and friend, was not a racist.

On Saturday night, Cole moved to calm down the situation. A statement issued through his lawyers said: "Ashley Cole has been made aware of the discussion following comments appearing on Twitter and 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 Tweeting is so quick it often results in offhand and stray comments."

Anti-racism campaigner Lord Ouseley, meanwhile, yesterday urged the Football Association to investigate the Terry-Ferdinand issue. "What they [the FA] have to do is pursue the process otherwise they become impotent," Ouseley told Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme.