Terry: he said it but not proven racially aggravated insult

The John Terry judgment is very readable and clear. The short version:

Did John Terry use threatening, abusive/insulting words.. within.. hearing/sight of a person likely to be caused.. distress? Yes.

Was it a racially aggravated abuse/insult under S28 of the Crime and Disorder Act (CDA) 1998, S5 of Public Order Act 1986 & S31(1)(c) & (5) of CDA there's a doubt, so...not guilty.

From the judgment:

"John Terry faces one allegation. It is said that on the 23rd October 2011 at
Loftus Road Stadium London, W12 he used threatening, abusive or insulting
words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour within the hearing or sight of a
person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress and the offence was
racially aggravated in accordance with section 28 of the Crime and Disorder
Act 1998, contrary to Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 and section
31(1)(c) and (5) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

To summarize:
     There is no doubt the words “Fucking black cunt” were directed at Mr
Ferdinand.
     Overall I found Anton Ferdinand to be a believable witness on the
central issue.
     It is inherently unlikely that he should firstly accuse John Terry of
calling him a black cunt, then shortly after the match completely deny
that he had made such a comment, and then maintain that false
account throughout the police investigation and throughout this trial.
There is no history of animosity between the two men. The supposed
motivation is slight.
     Mr Terry’s explanation is, certainly under the cold light of forensic
examination, unlikely. It is not the most obvious response. It is
sandwiched between other undoubted insults.
     I believe that he is an unwilling witness, and would have preferred that
this matter not come to court.
There were discrepancies in his evidence. To a large extent this is what
you would expect from a truthful witness. Much of what happened;
happened in a brief period of time, in circumstances where the result of
the game was more important than any individual argument between
two players. I will return later to the discrepancies.
[...]

So the question for me now is whether there is a doubt that the offence is
made out. In all criminal courts in this country a defendant is found guilty
only if the court, be it a jury, magistrate, or a judge, is sure of guilt. If there
is a reasonable doubt then the defendant is entitled to be acquitted.
[...]

Conclusion 

The prosecution has presented a strong case. There is no doubt that John
Terry uttered the words “fucking black cunt” at Anton Ferdinand. When he
did so he was angry. Mr Ferdinand says that he did not precipitate this
comment by himself accusing Mr Terry of calling him a black cunt.
Even with all the help the court has received from television footage,
expert lip readers, witnesses and indeed counsel, it is impossible to be  

sure exactly what were the words spoken by Mr Terry at the relevant time. It is
impossible to be sure exactly what was said to him at the relevant time by
Mr Ferdinand.

[...]

Weighing all the evidence together, I think it is highly unlikely that Mr
Ferdinand accused Mr Terry on the pitch of calling him a black cunt.
However I accept that it is possible that Mr Terry believed at the time, and
believes now, that such an accusation was made. The prosecution evidence
as to what was said by Mr Ferdinand at this point is not strong. Mr Cole
gives corroborating (although far from compelling corroborating)  

evidence on this point. It is therefore possible that what he said was not intended as
an insult, but rather as a challenge to what he believed had been said to
him.  

In those circumstances, there being a doubt, the only verdict the court can
record is one of not guilty." 

John Terry was on trial for using racially aggravated "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress" as set out in section 28 of the Crime & Disorder Act 1998, Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 and section 31(1)(c) and (5) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

The case was not proven beyond doubt, so he was found not guilty.


None of the actors in this little drama have come out of it looking too good. The footballers behaved badly.  They also seem to believe that vicious verbal abuse and offensive language is ok as long as there is no reference to colour?

The law (s5) determines that engaging in insulting words or behaviour is a criminal offence. That's pretty offensive itself in a modern democracy.

So I guess there are three remaining questions on the case.

Was it ok for the court to postpone the case until after the European championship finals for John Terry's convenience?

Do the FA now follow up by charging Mr Terry with misconduct as per the Suarez case last year?

More importantly, does the case help or hinder the campaign to get section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 repealed or updated?