Carlton Cole claims John Terry told him calling Anton Ferdinand a ‘f***ing black ****’ was ‘a moment of madness’ in a phone call as he sheds light on the immediate fall-out of the former Chelsea captain’s racism row
- In 2011, John Terry was alleged to have called Anton Ferdinand a ‘black ****’
- The incident took place in a match between Chelsea and QPR at Loftus Road
- Carlton Cole has revealed he was in touch with both players on the same evening
- According to Cole, Terry called the striker to get Ferdinand’s phone number
- Ferdinand described the incident to Cole as ‘bang out of order’ that evening
Carlton Cole has revealed that John Terry privately described his alleged racial slur against Anton Ferdinand in 2011 as ‘a moment of madness’ in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
Former Chelsea captain Terry was alleged to have called QPR defender Ferdinand ‘a f****** b**** ****’ during a match at Loftus Road in October 2011, an incident which the England defender denied at the time.
In a revelatory interview, then-West Ham striker Cole admitted that he spoke to both Terry and Ferdinand on the same day as the incident and even asked the Chelsea defender to explain his actions.
Carlton Cole says John Terry told him his Anton Ferdinand incident was ‘a moment of madness’
Terry (third left) was alleged to have called Ferdinand (far left) ‘a f***ing black ****’ in 2011
Cole told Stoppage Time TV: ‘I grew up with JT and I didn’t see that side of him. I was disappointed so I phoned him and I said, “why did you do that?”
‘He said “It was a moment of madness, I don’t know why I did that”.
‘I said, “You can’t explain yourself so just leave it.”‘
The incident led to Terry being stripped of the England captaincy in 2012 which led to the resignation of Fabio Capello as Three Lions manager just months before the European Championships that summer.
The incident saw Terry (above) stripped from the role as England captain in early 2012
In July of the same year, Terry was found not guilty of racism by the Westminster Magistrates Court but the Football Association opted to hold a private investigation into the incident away from criminal proceedings.
In September 2012, Terry was found guilty of racism by the FA and was fined and banned for four matches.
Cole also admitted that he saw the alleged victim Ferdinand on the same day as the incident, but that he was not interested in hearing an apology from Terry.
The former striker continued: ‘I was going to meet Anton after the game and I was heading to the hotel to meet Ashley Cole for someone’s birthday party. I’m in the car downstairs at Mayfair and I get a phone call from JT.
Terry (above) was found not guilty by criminal law but the FA did later find him guilty of racism
‘He told me: “Carlton, I need to speak to Anton. Are you seeing him tonight?”
‘I said: “I am actually, he is going to the same gaff I am.”‘
‘He wanted to apologise to Anton, that’s what the call was about. He wanted Anton’s number and that’s why I gave it to him.
‘I saw him (Anton) later on and he wasn’t having it. (He said:) “I’m done with that, bang out of order.”‘
Cole (L) revealed that Terry (R) called him shortly after the incident to get Ferdinand’s number
Cole also revealed that Ferdinand (above) described the incident as ‘bang out of order’
Like Terry, Cole came through the Chelsea academy in the late 1990s and the pair played alongside each other at Stamford Bridge in the early 2000s.
Cole then went to join West Ham in 2006 where he linked up with Ferdinand, with the Hammers duo also knowing each other from England Under-21s duty.
The former forward maintained that he was surprised that Terry was involved in such a scandal due to their close relationship growing up.
Cole (left) came through the Chelsea youth ranks with Terry (centre) in the late 1990s
Cole (second right) also knows Ferdinand (third right) from their time together at West Ham
Cole said: ‘At Chelsea, when I came through he (Terry) was my boy, I liked him.
‘He used to look after me. Even his dad knew my uncle who used to take me to football and they got along.
‘But it’s (about) education and understanding. What he went and done was go and state the obvious and used the ‘c’ word with it.
‘It surprised me because I hadn’t seen that side of him before. I knew he had other scandals, but when I saw it I was like “wow”.
Terry is now working as an assistant manager at Aston Villa, while 35-year-old Ferdinand is without a club after leaving St Mirren in 2019.