England footballer John Terry should not have been taken to court over racism claims, team mate Ashley Cole said on Wednesday.
Chelsea defender Terry, 31, is accused of calling Anton Ferdinand a “f****** black c***” during a Premier League game on October 23 last year.
He denies a racially aggravated public order offence, saying that he was sarcastically repeating the slur that Ferdinand mistakenly thought he had used.
On Wednesday, Cole, also 31, told Westminster Magistrates Court: “I think we shouldn’t be sitting here.”
He said that while racism should never be tolerated, repeating what you thought someone said was ’completely different’.
John Terry, who denies the charge, arrives at court on Wednesday morning
Cole said: “If I repeated something that I thought you said, that’s totally different than if someone just says something.”
Cole described Terry as “a close friend”, with whom he had played at Chelsea and for England for six or seven years.
But he said there was a “conflict” because he is also friends with Ferdinand and his brother Rio.
Cole said that "JT is my team-mate and friend; Anton and Rio and his family, I’ve known for a long time.”
Later asked about Terry's reaction to jibes and taunts on-field, Cole said: “He would probably laugh about it, it’s part and parcel of the game and you get used to it.”
When asked to describe Terry as a football captain, he said: “He’s one of the best, very inspirational.”
The left-back, pictured arriving at court on Wednesday, explained how he is friends with both the Ferdinand family and John Terry
Cole said on the day of the match at Loftus Road, he saw Ferdinand make a fist gesture to imply sex and could see him saying something about “Bridgey” or “black”.
“I can’t make out - him either saying Bridgey (Cole made the fist gesture) or black.”
He said he thought QPR centre-half Ferdinand-s taunts were “not necessary” and did not shake his hand after the game.
He did not hear Terry say anything in reply to the goading, the court heard.
The incident allegedly took place during a Chelsea-QPR match last year
Later in the game, Terry told Cole he thought Ferdinand had accused him of using a racist obscenity.
After the match, Cole was present when Terry asked Ferdinand what had happened.
“I think John said ‘Did you think I called you a black c***, did you think I was being racist?’ Then I said ‘Did you think John was being racist? Anton said ‘No, no’.”
The two players then shook hands and went their separate ways.
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