Ferdinand speaks out after Terry ban

Anton Ferdinand has broken his silence after John Terry was found guilty of using racist language towards him, declaring: "Footage don't lie."

Ferdinand took to Twitter to respond to abuse he claimed to have received on the social media site since Terry was handed a four-match ban and a £220,000 fine by an independent Football Association 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.

Terry was cleared in July by Westminster Magistrates Court of uttering the words as an insult.

But that did not prevent him being 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, is still deciding whether to appeal that verdict.

Meanwhile, questions have been asked why the ban imposed was only half the length of Liverpool's Luis Suarez, who served an eight-match suspension for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

The written reasons will provide the explanation for the difference in length of ban compared to Suarez and the most likely outcome is that Terry only said the insult once, while Suarez was judged by his panel to have called Evra "negro" up to seven times. Suarez was also fined around a week's wages - in his case £40,000.

Senior figures in football's anti-racism movements have privately queried where there should be a difference, but are unlikely to speak publicly until the appeals process is completed.

Joey Barton has also criticised the decision as "a shambles" compared to his own 12-game ban for violent conduct. The midfielder, now with Marseille, said on Twitter: "What an absolute farce. 12 games for violent conduct and only 4 for that. FA should be embarrassed #shambles."