Source: Daily_Mail
The John Terry I know is not a racist, says England's first black captain
As England's first black captain, Paul Ince is well-acquainted with the shameful history of racism in football. [LNB]He can recall the anger of having bananas thrown at him by opposition fans as a teenage player with West Ham United and the hurt when rival players tried to wind him up with abuse. [LNB]In Italy, during his spell with InterMilan, he suffered the indignity of an entire stadium chanting raciallyoffensive words at him, prompting the embarrassed local mayor to apologise. [LNB] The guv'nor: Paul Ince was at the heart of great England and Manchester United midfields[LNB]So when Ince says: 'As far as I am concerned, John Terry is not a racist', he is fully aware of the ramifications of that statement.[LNB] Not that Ince, who strutted the big stage with West Ham, Manchester United, Inter, Liverpool, Middlesbrough and England, is in any way an apologist for racist behaviour. [LNB]He simply believes that many things said in the heat of football competition do not reflect the true character of the men who say them.[LNB] The heat of the moment: But Paul Ince doesn't think John Terry is a racist.[LNB] The John Terry who Ince knows is, he says, a different man from the one in the spotlight over the words he is alleged to have aimed at the QPR defender Anton Ferdinand. [LNB]Terry, the captain of Chelsea and England, has admitted using the words, but disputes their context and denies having used them with racist intent. [LNB]'We don't know what happened with Anton and I am not making excuses for anyone but sometimes you can say something in the heat of the moment,' said Ince. 'It doesn't make you a racist. There is no intent in it; it just comes out. Bang! We have to be careful what we label people.'[LNB] Better times: John Terry (second-right) celebrates with Chelsea players[LNB]Ince, 44, got to know Terry because they both own homes in Portugal. [LNB]'John has a place out in the Algarve, in Quinta do Lago,' said Ince. 'I've been there for 12 years, next door to Michael Owen and I got to know JT by going out with him.[LNB] 'I've met JT enough times to know he's a placid guy, good company. I stood with him when my son, Thomas [now at Blackpool], played for Liverpool reserves at Chelsea. For me, JT is a lovely bloke. As far as I am concerned, he is not a racist.' [LNB]Ince takes what some might see as an old pro's view of the Terry affair.[LNB] Hero: Paul Ince in action for England[LNB]'I can't see why JT and Ferdinand couldn't have got together, found out who said what, apologised if they needed to and shook hands,' said Ince. 'Now it's a police investigation, an FA investigation. You've got people saying Terry should be thrown to the wolves, stripped of his captaincy - and he hasn't even been found guilty yet.[LNB] 'There doesn't have to be a hanging. He has gone back to Chelsea, played with Ashley Cole, John Obi Mikel. It doesn't seem to be an issue with them so why should it be an issue with England? For me, he has to play against Spain next Saturday.' [LNB]So would Ince, a bloodied hero in Rome in 1997 and captain of a multi-racial England team that included Paul Gascoigne, David Beckham and John Barnes, be happy to walk out at Wembley alongside Terry?[LNB] 'Yeah of course. Without a doubt,' he said without hesitation. 'And I expect every player would. If those slurs had happened four or five times then, no, I wouldn't want to line up alongside him. But for something to be said in the heat of the moment, that's different.' [LNB]Ince says players in the past have been guilty of similar, or worse, language than the words Terry is accused of directing at Ferdinand.[LNB] 'It was rife in the 1980s, part of the culture of the British game,' he said. 'I remember when I first played at West Ham in one away game, I was warming up at the side of the pitch and coins and bananas were being thrown at me. I was 18 and the abuse I was getting was enough for any kid to think "**** this, I'll go and do something else". [LNB] Different time: Paul Ince, in action for West Ham, tackles Paul Gascoigne[LNB]'Players would say things as well, it made me more thick-skinned. The stuff Terry is alleged to have said, that was a normal Saturday afternoon. They used it as a weapon to put you off, to make you lose your cool. I'd just say, "Yeah, heard that one".[LNB] 'It was still bad in Italy when I went there in 1995. Against Cremonese, I challenged the goalkeeper and he went down and rolled around. When I got up, the whole stadium sang, "Negro di Merda". I smashed one in the bottom corner soon after that and the abuse got even louder. It was disgusting and their mayor wrote to me apologising. [LNB]'It was so widespread even the Inter players would call me "Negro" in training, they just didn't see it as wrong. It got to the stage where I had dinner with George Weah, who was at AC Milan, and said something had to be done.'[LNB] Ally: AC Milan's George Weah was also the victim of racist abuse[LNB] Fortunately, there have been happier events in the football calendar this week than the Terry-Ferdinand and Luis Suarez-Patrice Evra race rows.[LNB] Ince was among the 700 guests at a dinner to celebrate the silver jubilee of his former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, at United. [LNB]Ince played at Old Trafford for six years between 1989 and 1995, Ferguson's trusted midfield general in a historic period that saw the boss win his first trophy, the 1990 FA Cup, first league championship, in 1993, and first Double in 1994. [LNB] Silencing the boo boys: Ince celebrates scoring for Inter Milan[LNB]The feud that saw Ince sold to Inter is long forgotten and he is proud to be one of many ex- Ferguson players who has had a crack at management, experiencing success and failure at Macclesfield, MK Dons (twice), Blackburn and Notts County, where he lost his job last season after taking Manchester City to an FA Cup replay.[LNB] 'As a manager, I took Blackburn to United for a Carling Cup game and I chatted with Fergie for 20 minutes in his office,' said Ince. 'He said if he could give me one bit of advice it would be: "Don't give the players an inch". I know what he means; Premier League players have so much power that they will notice a weakness in their manager immediately.' [LNB]But life in the lower leagues can be more complex. Ince said: 'You have to deal with players who might have social problems. I had one who had gangsters after him because he owed them money. Another got a girl pregnant and her boyfriend was after him. [LNB]'Ferguson had leaders, big men like Bryan Robson, Peter Schmeichel and Roy Keane in his team. If he walloped them at half-time, they would go out to show him. It wouldn't work as well now, even at United. The players are more likely to go into their shell.' [LNB]Financially, Ince does not have to work. He wants to. He still loves the game and asking him to name a United dream team from Ferguson's 25 years seems almost as much fun as picking a team for Saturday. [LNB] Dream team: Peter Schmeichel was a star for Manchester United[LNB]'Schmeichel in goal, our strikers couldn't even score against him one-on-one in training. Gary Neville at right-back and Denis Irwin left-back, one of the best two-footed players I've seen in my life. Centre-halves? Gary Pallister would stick out a long leg to stop most strikers. Jaap Stam was physical like Steve Bruce and Nemanja Vidic, but quicker. Fewer red cards.' [LNB]Midfield is a surprise, with Ince failing to find a spot for his long-time partner Keane. [LNB]'I've got to have Bryan Robson, he was my hero,' said Ince. 'And Paul Scholes, the only British player in 20 years good enough for Barcelona. The wingers pick themselves. Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs.' [LNB]To complete the line-up, Ince plumps for the 1994 strike-force - Eric Cantona and Mark Hughes. [LNB] Best of all: Ryan Giggs[LNB]And the greatest of all Ferguson's players? 'Giggs,' says Ince. 'He lived with me and [wife] Claire for a few months when he was 16 - although I don't think Fergie knew! [LNB]'I remember it because Claire kept moaning about the filthy state his room was in, clothes all over the floor. He was a kid then. But he's a legend now. Just like his manager.' United we stand! Sir Alex Ferguson has Old Trafford's north stand named in his honourMan United 1 Sunderland 0: Brown's own goal ensures Fergie's big day doesn't fall flatSchmeichel, Cantona, Ronaldo... Ferguson's best-ever signings at Old TraffordAll the latest Manchester United news, features and opinion [LNB] [LNB]
