I’m not a racist – Terry

LONDON – Chelsea captain John Terry pointed to his work helping African footballers and their charities as evidence he isn’t prejudiced during police interviews heard at his racism trial Tuesday.

The England defender lost the national team captaincy over accusations he racially abused Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match last October.

In a statement to police heard in court on the second day of the trial, Terry insisted that the language he used was “responsive and not accusatory.” The 31-year-old center back says he was merely repeating the term to Ferdinand to counter what he believed he was being accused of.

Defending his character to police, Terry highlighted his work helping to integrate a “multicultural group of players” at Chelsea and his long-standing support for the charity work of black former teammates Marcel Desailly and Didier Drogba.

“My commitment to the projects demonstrates I’m not racist,” Terry told police.

Terry, who was in the dock for a second day, faces a maximum fine of 2,500 pounds ($3,900) if he becomes the first top football player in England convicted of racial abuse during a game.

Terry also repeatedly defended his character during disciplinary interviews last October with the English Football Association, which were heard at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

“I have been called a lot of things in my career and off the pitch but being racist is not one I am prepared to take at all,” he said before being charged with a racially aggravated public order offense. — AP