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QPR want Ferdinand to ‘make peace’ with Terry

Comment: 0 January 24th, 2012

IT may be an all’s well that ends well ending between Anton Ferdinand and John Terry after all.

That is if Ferdinand agrees to shake hands with Terry before Queens Park Rangers and Chelsea collide in their FA Cup tie on Saturday.

In a bid to patch things up, QPR officials are holding talks within the week to try to encourage Ferdinand to extend his hand to the Blues captain.

Terry is set to face a criminal trial on 1 February over allegations that he racially abused the QPR defender during a recent tussle.

Under FA protocol, players of opposing teams must shake hands before games.

To defuse tension, QPR want Ferdinand to do as such and concentrate on playing.

The fourth-round confrontation will see both players on the turf for the first time since the Hoops won a highly-physical game between the two outfits at Loftus Road last 23 October.

Terry has insinuated he is ready to shake hands with Ferdinand before the coming game but it is still unclear on the latter whether he would do the same.

Ferdinand is expected to join the QPR meetings since the issue regarding pre-match handshakes has been brought to the agenda of the team’s discussions ahead of the tie.

Terry has been involved in a handshake issue before.

In February 2010, Wayne Bridge rejected Terry’s hands since the latter was reported having an affair with the Manchester City left back’s former partner Vanessa Perroncell.

Security is expected to be tight during the QPR-Chelsea showdown. Fans have also been warned earlier about their behaviour.

Earlier on, Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas appealed to Blues fans not to jeer Ferdinand during the game which starts at noon.

Chelsea condemned their fans who shouted “Anton Ferdinand, you know what you are’’ during their 1-1 Champions League Group E tiff last 1 November at the Cristal Arena in Genk.

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