Terry faced team snub before handshake U-turn
QPR team were ready to ignore protocol and follow Ferdinand's lead
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Your support makes all the difference.The entire Queens Park Rangers team were prepared to publicly snub John Terry, had the Football Association not stepped in to prevent pre-match handshakes at Loftus Road yesterday.
Anton Ferdinand was determined not to shake hands with a man who will, on Wednesday, be formally charged with using racist language towards him. The Rangers players said they would also snub him, leading the FA to order a change of protocol.
"It was absolutely the right decision," said Mark Hughes, the QPR manager. "Why shake hands if it is not done with integrity?"
"It was a wise decision," said Andre Villas-Boas, the Chelsea manager. Terry did shake hands with Joey Barton, the QPR captain, at the coin toss, and again after a match settled by a controversial penalty won by Daniel Sturridge and converted by Juan Mata.
In yesterday's other grudge match, Patrice Evra was booed and subjected to chants of "there's only one lying bastard" as Manchester United lost 2-1 to a late goal by the Liverpool substitute Dirk Kuyt. Last night Merseyside Police were investigating a photograph on Twitter which appeared to show one Liverpool supporter making a monkey gesture.
The club issued a statement which said: "We are now working closely with Merseyside Police to establish the facts of what occurred and identify the individual involved." It was later announced that the police had made two arrests, while a further 17 fans were ejected from the stadium.
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