Choc Ice

I said to myself just the other day - in the wake of the John Terry affair - that the words 'get your choc ice here' will no longer have such an innocent ring.

John Terry, of course, is the captain of Chelsea Football Club and was accused of racially abusing another player during a game - Anton Ferdinand, who plays for Queens Park Rangers.

The case ended up in court but John Terry was sensationally acquitted - after a convoluted defence which saw a fellow Chelsea play (a black player) - Ashley Cole - give evidence on Terry's behalf. 

For his trouble Ashley Cole was then described on Twitter as a 'choc ice' - i.e. black on the outside but white on the inside.

By none other than Rio Ferdinand - the Manchester United defender who was dropped from the recent England Euro 2012 squad - and Anton Ferdinand's brother, of course.

Now all of this just goes to show - to my mind anyway - that the brains of most footballers still lie mainly in their feet.

Because the the use of the phrase 'choc ice' to describe Ashley Cole is a racially offensive term - the fact that it was used by another black player is neither here nor there - since the term 'choc ice' is deliberate, provocative and refers in a derogatory way to the colour of another person's skin.

But I'm glad the police did not launch another investigation into the whole affair - which would have been an overreaction and a huge waste of public money. 

No, the main responsibility for dealing with the bad behaviour of these overpaid football players lies with the footballing authorities - in this case the English FA. 

The English FA didn't prosecute John Terry at the time of the original incident involving Anton Ferdinand - but instead deferred to the courts.

Which was a big mistake and a terrible abdication of its responsibilities - so let's hope the English FA gets a grip and starts to clean up the game.