Chelsea captain John Terry claimed in an interview in October that being dubbed a racist was not something he was "prepared to take", a court has heard today.
The England international arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court this morning for day two of his trial, where the centre-back faces a racially-aggravated public order offence for allegedly verbally abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a West London derby last year.
The court was played an audio recording of an interview, which took place on October 28, between Terry and the Football Association Regulatory officers, where the former Three Lions skipper claimed that Ferdinand had accused him of being racist.
"I'm not having anyone think that [I'm being racist] because that's not my character at all," Terry said in the interview. "I've been called a lot of things in my career but being a racist is not one I am prepared to take. It's not my character at all.
"I know I've got nothing to hide. If I wanted to I could whisper something to someone. I'm repeating what he said to me. I was hurt, taken aback and really surprised. I felt really angry and cross by him questioning me about being a racist."
The trial is expected to last five days, with the maximum punishment for Terry being a £2,500 fine.
Danielle Joynson
