All he wanted was a phone call. According to Rio Ferdinand, the most toxic scandal in the history of the Premier League era could have been avoided if John Terry had just picked up the telephone and apologised. Yet isn’t that the nub of it? The reason Terry’s foul exchange with Rio’s brother Anton continues to resonate almost three years later is because civil resolution was impossible once the wheels of the modern race scandal began turning. Rio’s recollection of that time is shaming for British society. Smashed windows, bullets in the post, abuse in the street. His mother was hospitalised with stress. And his family were the victims. Understandably, he feels bitter that Terry appeared without remorse through this turbulent period. Yet it was not as simple as that.
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Rio Ferdinand recalls race row with John Terry in his new book, #2sides
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Terry used racially-aggravated language towards Rio's brother Anton at Loftus Road in October 2011 that led to a court case and FA investigation
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Rio says scandal could have been avoided if Terry had just phoned the Ferdinand family and apologised for using language in heart of the moment
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Moment member of public complained communication became impossible
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Ferdinand says he was under legal instruction not to talk about case
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If incident was repeated next weekend, new punishment procedures would be in place but Premier League remains uneducated on racial issues
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English football no further advanced in dealing with it than three years ago
The moment a member of the public complained about what @placeholder is alleged to have shouted down the pitch on October 23, 2011, communication became impossible.