Racism has long been a problem in the world of football, and many of the big Leagues all over the world have fallen prey to one of the most disgusting aspects of modern life. It was only 5 years back that ‘racism’ was a word that was not heard in the grounds across England and was mainly a problem for the Spanish and Russian Leagues where the hatred for the colored people have been all encompassing and have created problems many times in the past.

However, the last couple of years have shown that racism has entered the tradition of English football, with the Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra scandal and now, the John Terry and Anton Ferdinand spat proving that even the almighty FA couldn’t prevent racism from raising its ugly head in the English game. When Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United left back Evra during a heated encounter between the two English giants last year, many had commented that Suarez, hailing from South America and having played in the Netherlands, had brought his own mindset into the English game and the English players would not indulge in such low tactics.

However, that was proven to be wrong when Anton Ferdinand claimed that Terry had racially abused him during a Premier League match between Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road last October. Although Terry vehemently denied the charges, the police department decided to open a case against the recently retired former England captain.

And although the Westminster Magistrate found Terry not guilty of the charges, the FA decided to continue its own proceedings in the case and Terry was tried and finally, the verdict was announced when Terry was handed a 4 match ban and a fine of £ 220,000. But still, there have been questions raised if the FA has done enough to rid The Beautiful Game of such heinous crimes, considering the leniency of the judgment.

Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager was banned for 5 matches a couple of seasons back because he called a referee fat. It is inarguably a nothing crime considering the charges that were leveled against Terry and for him to go almost scot free like this raises a lot of questions. Even the ban of Luis Suarez would seem extremely harsh if the Chelsea skipper gets away with just a 4 match ban. Twitter has been flooded with comments over the last couple of nights regarding the verdict that might be announced and the consensus was that if Terry was indeed found guilty, he should be handed a heavy punishment that would act as a precedent for the future.

But that was not to be and Terry has escaped with a ridiculous punishment considering how the case dragged on and there is even the opportunity to appeal the verdict which could see his punishment reduced even more. Clearly, the FA needs to buck up and clean the sport and be strong enough to stand its own ground.