Goal.com

Sep 15, 2012 7:28:00 PM

The R's manager has called for the formality to be ended after their was again controversy after the home side's centre-back ignored the Blues pair following the ongoing racism row

Mark Hughes has condemned the pre-match ritual of shaking hands after QPR centre-back Anton Ferdinand refused to acknowledge Chelsea defenders John Terry and Ashley Cole.

The former England captain was tried and acquitted in July, with team-mate Cole supporting his version of events in court, of racially abusing the R’s man in an exchange that took place in the corresponding fixture last season.

And Hughes has called for the removal of the formality, insisting it causes more harm than good.

"I’ve got the utmost respect for the respect campaign, and it has done fantastic work. But this element of it causes more problems than it solves,” he told reporters.

"I don’t want to get misty eyes about the old days but that [shaking hands at the end of the game] is how we used to do things."

The pre-match handshake was introduced as part of the Football Association’s Respect campaign, but was suspended when the two teams met in the FA Cup last season - and the row had again cast a shadow over Saturday’s game.

Ferdinand had been expected to avoid shaking the hands of the Chelsea pair, and Hughes admitted: "The players had a discussion and I was made aware that some were prepared to shake the oppositions’ hand and some weren’t.

"It was a personal choice of each and every one of them and I didn’t know who was going to do what."

The controversy had also led to former England manager Fabio Capello’s resignation after he refused to strip Terry, who had previously partnered Anton Ferdinand’s brother Rio, in central defence of the international captaincy ahead of his court proceedings which were scheduled after the tournament.

Hughes took the opportunity to call for an end to the row, and praised Ferdinand’s performance on the pitch in the aftermath as QPR held on to keep a clean sheet against the European champions.

He concluded: "For goodness sake, we’ve been talking about it for God knows how long. I think it’s done and dusted - something of nothing in my view.

"The game was more important - it was very competitive but played in good spirit.

"I thought [Ferdinand] was excellent alongside Ryan Nelsen, who flew halfway around the world and was magnificent."

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