Jose Mourinho defends Chelsea captain over racism

PanARMENIAN.Net - Jose Mourinho has launched a staunch defense of Chelsea captain John Terry after declaring that “he is not a racist,” CNN reports.

Terry was hit with a four-match ban and a $356,000 fine on Thursday, Sept 27 after being found guilty of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand by the Football Association.

Terry, who captained Mourinho's Chelsea to Premier League glory in 2005 and 2006, remains close friends with the Portuguese manager following their successful time at Stamford Bridge.

Speaking to CNN, Real Madrid manager Mourinho said of Terry: "He is not a racist. That's 100%. We (Chelsea) had a squad where we had 12 African players in the squad. It was a fantastic squad and he had always a great relation with every one of them. But in football it can happen, and I know it can happen, that during a football match because sometimes it's more than a game and sometimes you have reactions that don't represent what you are really. Probably, he had a racist comment or a "racist" attitude against an opponent and, sometimes in football, we look to our opponents in the wrong way. But to pay, he has to be punished. But please, don't say that he is a racist because I know what I am saying...Drogba will say, Geremi will say, Makelele will say, all of them will say that he is not a racist.”

Asked whether he though there is still racism in football, Mourinho answered: "I never felt it. Never. In a dressing room, I have never felt it, and I've always had African players in every one of my teams."