Anton Ferdinand speaks out after receiving Twitter abuse

Ferdinand took to Twitter to respond to abuse he claimed to have received on the site since Terry was banned for four games and fined £220,000 by an independent FA panel over the pair’s altercation in a match at Loftus Road almost a year ago.

The QPR defender tweeted: “On a serious note people need 2 read the facts before they send stupid tweets 2 me with liar and grass in it footage don’t lie.”

Ferdinand’s tweet seemed to refer to the video footage that appeared to show Chelsea captain Terry using the words “f****** black c***” towards him during last October’s west London derby.

The Blues defender was cleared in July by Westminster Magistrates Court of uttering the words as an insult, only to be found guilty of a similar charge under FA rules on Thursday, with the FA charge relating to whether or not he had used the words at all irrespective of context.

Terry, who has always denied all charges against him, was still considering yesterday whether to appeal that verdict.

But Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has suggested that Terry should consider himself fortunate to only have been banned for four matches.

He said: “The fact he got a four-game ban, he may consider that is quite lenient considering Luis Suarez got eight.”

Professional Footballers Association chief executive Gordon Taylor felt that the FA verdict had been too long in coming.

He said: “Such a delay has allowed the matter to fester and cause divisions in the football family which will take a long time to heal — if they ever do.”