1. John Terry’s defence that he had only been repeating words he thought Anton Ferdinand had accused him of saying and had not racially insulted him had “no credible basis” and was “improbable, implausible and contrived”.
2. Character references made it clear that Terry was not racially prejudiced.
3. Questions were raised over Ashley Cole’s statement supporting Terry’s version and the role played by Chelsea club secretary Dave Barnard in later changing that statement.
4. Terry’s stature as England captain at the time was an aggravating feature in the case and that his “conduct undermines the FA’s efforts in combating racism through the Kick it Out campaign”.
5. The Commission’s decision was “on the balance of probabilities”.
6. Terry did not give evidence in person and no witnesses were called on his behalf.
7. The Commission’s written reasons total 63 pages in length, 14,765 words and contain 55 mentions of the word c***.
The FA disciplinary report stressed Chelsea skipper Terry was not a racist.
But that was the only bit of good news for Terry, his team-mate Ashley Cole and Blues’ club secretary David Barnard.
Terry, 31, was systematically ripped to bits by the disciplinary panel which fined him £220,000 and banned him for four games for calling Ferdinand a “f****** black c***”.
It said there was “no credible basis” for Terry’s argument that he was repeating the phrase he thought Ferdinand had accused him of during last October’s QPR versus Chelsea clash.
The panel ruled the defender’s arguments were “improbable, implausible and contrived”.
And they added: “We are quite satisfied, and find on the balance of probabilities, that the offending words were said by way of insult.”
Not to beat about the bush, they accused Terry of being a liar and of deliberately insulting Ferdinand.
His reputation, already tarnished from past misdemeanours, was shredded beyond repair.
Terry, who quit playing for England before the hearing when he failed to get the case dropped, chose NOT to give evidence to the FA commission. It meant the panel had to use evidence he gave at Westminster Magistrates Court where he was cleared of racial abuse three months ago.
Terry had argued that having been exonerated by the court, the FA should not be pursuing him. He felt they were on a witch-hunt. But that cut no ice with the FA’s panel.
They also heard from the FA that Terry’s position as England captain — as he was at the time — had undermined their efforts to combat racism in football.
And the report also stated how the FA had highlighted inconsistencies in Terry’s explanations over the red card he got in last season’s Champions League semi-final in Barcelona.
Terry has 14 days to consider an appeal and remains aggrieved over the whole episode.
A Terry source said: “John is totally focused on the match against Norwich and nothing else. Only when the game is over will he then turn his attention to the FA Commission’s report.
“He will look at it in detail early next week along with his lawyers and advisers.
“There’s no need to rush — we have 14 days to respond. We can make a considered decision although it’s unlikely we will need the full 14 days to do that.”
If Terry appeals, he runs the risk of his ban being increased. It is hard though to see how his reputation could be damaged any further, so he may feel he has not got much more to lose.
The commission had more than Terry in their sights. Cole was also in the firing line.
His ultimate punishment will be given when he retires as a player and nobody remembers him for the performances he gave for england and chelsea but will remember him as an adulterer and the man who caused dressing and broad room divisions for england.