27Jan

Whether Ferdinand shakes Terry’s hand or not means nothing

by Mike Calvin

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The pressure on Anton Ferdinand, in tomorrow’s toxic FA Cup tie between QPR and Chelsea, is unfair and unwarranted. The world will be watching when he makes his choice, between a moral stand and an empty gesture. Much, far too much, will be read into whether he shakes John Terry’s hand.

The QPR defender’s body language will be scrutinised, and any sound bites will be slavered over. The Chelsea captain vehemently denies racially abusing Ferdinand and, with court proceedings due to commence on 1 February, is determined to fulfil his commitments to his club.

A joint statement by QPR and Chelsea, evidently written by someone who has a soft-focus study of fluffy kittens as a screensaver, called for calm and expressed the wish that the game will be “a celebration of football”. Dream on. The talk is of death threats, police escorts, and heightened security.

We’ve seen this particular movie before. One of Wayne Bridge’s final gestures, before disappearing into a parallel universe in which he is paid £4.5million a year for not playing football, was to refuse to shake Terry’s hand at Stamford Bridge two seasons ago. What did we learn from that farce? Absolutely nothing.

The high noon confrontation between Rio’s younger brother, and the man who replaced Rio as England captain, is catnip for football’s chattering classes. It also highlights a wider issue, football’s obsession with respect.

The ritual pre-match handshake between the teams is the sort of meaningless, mealy-mouthed diversionary tactic beloved of the football authorities. It is meant to signify mutual respect, and infers that it should be enshrined as a right. That’s nonsense, in any walk of life, let alone something as combustible as a high-profile football match.

Players touch palms, and within seconds are conspiring to complicate the careers of fellow professionals. It is second nature for a footballer to cheat and manipulate emotions. The search for advantage has few ethical complications. Yet when the final whistle sounds, friendships with opponents are instantly resumed.

Ferdinand is being second guessed, and lectured about his responsibilities, yet loyalty seems to be a one-way street. Football is a hard game. He will be aware that he is a member of a defence deemed inadequate by Mark Hughes, QPR’s new manager. The world is being scoured for his replacement.

We should wait for the Crown Prosecution Service to decide Terry’s fate, and allow Ferdinand to his make up his own mind. Get over it, people, whatever he decides.

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