Anton Ferdinand will decide on Tuesday whether to report the Chelsea captain, John Terry, to the Football Association over an alleged racist slur, after speaking to the manager at Queens Park Rangers, Neil Warnock.
Video footage of an incident towards the end of QPR's 1-0 victory has circulated in which it has been suggested Terry calls the home defender a "fucking black cunt". Terry denies this but the pictures are to be scrutinised by officers from Hammersmith and Fulham police after a member of the public emailed a complaint.
That investigation is currently in a "consideration period" while officers assess whether there is a case for Terry to answer. The England captain has already issued a statement in which he said viewers had "leapt to the wrong conclusions about the context of what I was seen to be saying to Anton Ferdinand". Terry said he had been responding to accusations from the opposing centre-half that he had used racist language.
"I thought Anton was accusing me of using a racist slur against him," he said. "I responded aggressively, saying I never used that term." The key part of the footage, where the England captain said he shouted "Oi, Anton, I never said …", is obscured by Ashley Cole walking across the camera shot.
The furore over the incident, and a fractious fixture which saw Chelsea reduced to nine men before the interval, is understood to have spilled into the tunnel after the final whistle, with angry altercations involving players from both sides. Terry and Paddy Kenny, the QPR goalkeeper, continued arguments that began on the pitch, and other players are believed to have become involved in what is a narrow corridor outside the dressing rooms.
Terry said he had spoken to Ferdinand once tempers had calmed "and there was no problem between us", saying the incident had been "a misunderstanding". Yet the notion that the pair departed amicably has been rejected by sources at QPR. The club have declined to comment publicly on the issue and Ferdinand – normally a keen twitterer – has remained silent.
Terry is preparing to defend himself and on Monday night told the Daily Mail: "I'll do whatever it takes to clear my name and I don't have anything to hide." In an apparent reference to a rash of negative postings on social networking sites, he added: "I'm not taking that level of abuse."
The Rangers players will report back to their Harlington training on Tuesday morning. The club made preliminary contact with Ferdinand by text on Monday and the defender and one of his representatives are due to meet Warnock after training to discuss whether the club will ask the FA to investigate. It is understood the player and the club were minded to pursue the matter, though the 26-year-old asked to sleep on the matter before making a final decision.