By Chris Wright

While his club are urging him to, there is still a fair old wodge of uncertainty as to whether Anton Ferdinand will shake John Terry's hand before QPR's FA Cup tie against Chelsea at Loftus Road on Saturday.

As you will be all-too-well aware by now, Terry is due to attend a hearing at West London magistrates court four days after the match on charges of racially abusing Ferdinand after referring to the QPR centre-half as a 'farting black klutz' or something similar when the two sides met in the Premier League back on October 23rd of last year.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

As Egypt reels from the tragic deaths in Port Said, national team coach Bob Bradley is taking a role in the rebuilding.

The former U.S. manager joined in a non-violent protest march on Thursday as public anger against the interior ministry grows.

While the Kickette staff were away, the gossip mice did play.

Or something like that.

Saturday

- Pato's main squeeze, Barbara Berlusconi, went red on her head.

- Christine Bleakley and Frank Lampard may be above bribing other brides and grooms, but we're not.

Very interesting decision the Premier League has taken ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture between Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers. The Premier League has decided that there will be no pre-match hand shake due to the legal situation involving John Terry and Anton Ferdinand.

A statement on the its website read:

"The Premier League position on the pre-match handshake convention remains consistent.

Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Philadelphia Union

Broad Street Hooligans says they have "a few connections who work down at PPL" and that these connections "may have accidentally overheard their bosses super-secret text messages" to the effect that Philadelphia will host the 2012 MLS All-Star Game.

By JOHN BOSCHINI

Headlines in England following the draw for the fourth round of the FA Cup will be centered on the Liverpool vs. Manchester United battle and a possible QPR vs. Chelsea meeting, as rematches of racism-marred Premier League games take center stage. For American fans, though, there's a much more tasty fixture to be found.

The magic of the FA Cup. The combined furor of two players and thus two clubs and two sets of support groups embroiled in an alleged race row.

And, of course, handshake gate revisited.

Not again

Saturday's FA Cup fixture between visiting Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road is brimmed with subplots.

The magic of the FA Cup. The combined furor of two players and thus two clubs and two sets of support groups embroiled in an alleged race row.

And, of course, handshake gate revisited.

Not again

Saturday's FA Cup fixture between visiting Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road is brimmed with subplots.

Anton, or is that your name? Now, touch my skin. Worship it.

One should ask the FA why they did such a thorough job investigating Luis Suarez's racial abuse of Patrice Evra and then drop the ball on John Terry doing the same against Anton Ferdinand? Suarez gets an eight match ban, while Terry gets rewarded with a deferment of his trial till after the 2012 Euro is over and retains his captaincy of the Three Lions to boot.

Photo: Paul Rudderow

Philadelphia Union

In case you missed it, Peter Nowak was fined and suspended for two games for leaving the technical area and initiating contact with an opposition player during last Saturday's win against Chivas USA. The next time he'll be on the sidelines will be against Schalke.

Image via elpais.com.

When this man got within feet of Francesco Totti, he chose to scream in his face.

This was not the wackiest thing that happened across the European leagues this weekend, which tells you everything you need to know about this time of year.

EPL

A phenomenal display from Fernando yesterday.

Goal: PFA look to introduce cultural awareness sessions for senior players following Liverpool's Luis Suarez race row

Uruguayan's eight-game ban following remarks made to Patrice Evra, and John Terry's criminal investigation after Anton Ferdinand clash, prompts decision to better educate players

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2012-01-06 11:29:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Goal: PFA look to introduce cultural awareness sessions for senior players following Liverpool's Luis Suarez race row

Uruguayan's eight-game ban following remarks made to Patrice Evra, and John Terry's criminal investigation after Anton Ferdinand clash, prompts decision to better educate players

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2012-01-06 11:29:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Goal: PFA look to introduce cultural awareness sessions for senior players following Liverpool's Luis Suarez race row

Uruguayan's eight-game ban following remarks made to Patrice Evra, and John Terry's criminal investigation after Anton Ferdinand clash, prompts decision to better educate players

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2012-01-06 11:29:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Goal: PFA look to introduce cultural awareness sessions for senior players following Liverpool's Luis Suarez race row

Uruguayan's eight-game ban following remarks made to Patrice Evra, and John Terry's criminal investigation after Anton Ferdinand clash, prompts decision to better educate players

View the full story here: Goal

A news article on 2012-01-06 11:29:00 from: Goal

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Guardian: Liverpool and Manchester United to hold peace talks before FA Cup game

• Relations currently strained between Liverpool and United • John Terry could face Anton Ferdinand if Chelsea meet QPR Manchester United and Liverpool will hold peace talks over the next few weeks after being paired together in an FA Cup fourth-round draw that also throws up the possibility of John Terry's Chelsea playing at Queens Park Rangers only a few days before his court appearance for allegedly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.

Neil Warnock's sacking by QPR after a run of just two points from their last eight league matches was not as much of a surprise as one would expect. Warnock had not only saved the club from relegation after joining from Crystal Palace during the 2009-10 season but led Rangers to the Championship title in his full season.

By Chris Wright

With charges, arrests and general controversy beginning to stack up, we are once again indebted to Taiwan-based media group NMA who filter out all the bull plop and present us with nothing but the clear facts using their trademark subtle blend of retina-searing imagery, dizzying overly-literal metaphors and featherlight grip on the actual incidents being discussed.

Guardian: MPs to hold inquiry into racism in sport following Luis Suárez case

• Culture, media and sport select committee will consider issue • Inquiry will not only be restricted to football A committee of MPs is to hold an inquiry into racism in sport following the Luis Suárez case and allegations against John Terry.

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The Mark Hughes Era Begins: Good luck to Mark Hughes.

Two big wins tonight in the FA Cup for Bolton and QPR, two sides that have been struggling for wins in the league this season.

Bolton beat fourth-tier Macclesfield 2-0 to reach the competition's last 32. First-half goals by striker Kevin Davies and Bulgaria winger Martin Petrov set up an all-Premier League match against Swansea on Jan.

[W]ith the fallout from recent incidents involving Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra, and John Terry and Anton Ferdinand, dominating the back pages, racism in English football is once again a hot topic. An opportune time, then, to ask Stan Horne about (among other things) his experiences as the first ever black player for a trio of current Premier League clubs: Villa, Fulham and his beloved Man City.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has urged the media to stop focusing the spotlight heavily on John Terry as the Blues skipper returns to QPR next Saturday for the first time since being accused of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand in October.

The Rangers won the ill-tempered clash 1-0 as Villas-Boas saw two of his players dismissed, leaving the visitors to fight with nine men for most of the afternoon.

As if today's disappointing result wasn't enough to elicit anger, we now have news that a section of Chelsea supporters were reported to authorities after allegedly making racist remarks about Anton Ferdinand as they were traveling back from Norfolk via train.

Chelsea Football Club is concerned to hear that a small number of fans travelling back by train from Norwich were alleged to be involved in racist chants and comment.

As if today's disappointing result wasn't enough to elicit anger, we now have news that a section of Chelsea supporters were reported to authorities after allegedly making racist remarks about Anton Ferdinand as they were traveling back from Norfolk via train.

Chelsea Football Club is concerned to hear that a small number of fans travelling back by train from Norwich were alleged to be involved in racist chants and comment.

Queens Park Rangers are reportedly keen for defender Anton Ferdinand to shake hands with Chelsea's John Terry in a bid to ease tensions between the pair before Saturday's FA Cup fourth round tie.
All eyes will be on the duo in the clash at Loftus Road this weekend, as they come face-to-face for the first time since England skipper Terry was charged with racially abusing Ferdinand in the Premier League meeting between the two sides in October.

Chelsea's up coming against Queens Par Rangers will be the first meeting for both John Terry and Anton Ferdinand since claims that Terry racially abused Ferdinand surfaced last October.

And according to chief racism campaigner, Lord Herman Ouseley, he expects the duo to diffuse the tension surrounding the incident by shaking hands during the customary pre match formalities.

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-- From Bushman Archives: QPR Team of 1897
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By JOHN BOSCHINI

It's FA Cup weekend again in England, and the field is down to 32 teams.

Liverpool are well out of the Premier League title race, and their Champions League hopes are diminishing quickly, but fans will find some solace in the domestic cups, especially after the club reached the Carling Cup final earlier this week.

Photo by Stephen Brashear/ISIphotos.com

CONCACAF's two places in the women's soccer tournament at this summer's Olympics will be determined Friday night, as the U.S. women look to maintain their stretch of dominance and clinch a place in London with a win over Costa Rica.

Football, thankfully, gets the attention today.

Team news and the like from 6:45am EST.

Team sheets
Queens Park Rangers
TBA

Chelsea
TBA

Streaming:
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Sport Lemon

Patrice Evra will be on the receiving end of some abuse today but I'd like to think it won't be racist abuse. Maybe I'm naive and I'm probably giving the vermin too much credit but I genuinely hope that Liverpool fans don't turn their dislike of Evra, having been lead to believe that he's a liar by the ridiculous propaganda from their club, in to something far more sinister.

A pair of heated English derby match-ups headline today's action, and both will have added subplots that will only make things more intense.

Manchester United and Liverpool clash in their first meeting since the controversial match where Luis Suarez allegedly used racial slurs against Patrice Evra; while London rivals Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers meet for the first time since John Terry allegedly used a racial slur against Anton Ferdinand.

By Alan Duffy

Considering all the pre-match hype concerning Anton Ferdinand and John Terry's long-awaited reacquaintance, you would have thought that the game itself might have fizzled a bit more. However, instead, it was a flat affair, with Juan Mata outstanding out for all the right reasons, and Daniel Sturridge making a name for himself for all the wrong ones.

Both Chelsea and QPR decided there would be no customary handshake before the game as John Terry and Anton Ferdinand met for the first time since their controversial racism scandal when last they met. And there was more controversy as referee Mike Dean gave Chelsea a 62nd minute penalty after England striker Daniel Sturridge dived in the area, fooling the official into thinking QPR defender Clint Hill fouled the Chelsea cheat.

It wasn't pretty. Hell, it was downright hideous. But it's a win, one that puts us in the fifth-round draw. Hey, that's good enough for this guy.

A united front

I guess we should have expected this. All the hype, all the controversy it simply overstated what was bound to be on display at Loftus Road on Saturday.

szólj hozzá: q0-1c

The other match with a potentially explosive racial overtones was effectively nipped in the bud as the FA decided to do away with handshakes pre-empting Anton Ferdinand's contemplated threat not to shake John Terry's hand. The Chelsea captain begins his legal challenge on Feb 1st defending against charges of a racist verbal assault on Ferdinand in their last match on Oct 23rd.

Just a quick round-up this morning:

Terry will go to the Euros...

• Shambolic! RT @RobHarrisUK BREAKING: England captain Terry not to stand trial on charge of racially abusing opponent until after Euro 2012.

The skinny: John Terry's legal trial regarding his alleged racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand postponed to the week of July 9th.

Image: REUTERS/Eddie Keogh.

John Terry will go on trial for his alleged racist comments against Anton Ferdinand on 9th July, just nine days after the conclusion of EURO 2012. Terry, who will captain England in the tourney, pleaded not guilty to a 'racially-aggravated public order offence' via a solicitor at a court hearing this morning.