Goal.com

English football's governing body will provide the full explanation for the Chelsea defender's four-match ban and £220,000 fine before the weekend's action

The Football Association is set to publish the full written reasons behind their decision to hand Chelsea captain John Terry a four-match suspension and a fine of £220,000.

An independent FA regulatory commission found the defender guilty of using “abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour, which included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race” to Anton Ferdinand in a charge dating back to Chelsea’s game against QPR on October 23 last year.

The FA has confirmed to Goal.com that they hope to be publishing the full reasons behind the decision possibly as early as Wednesday and certainly before this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures.

English football’s governing body also stressed they had no direct control over exactly when the publication of the details will take place because the inquiry has been overseen by an independent QC from the outset.

Once Terry has received the written judgement, he will have 14 days to decide whether he wants to mount an appeal.

His four-match suspension will not kick in until he has decided whether he will contest the punishment after being found guilty of the disciplinary charge, which was brought by the FA under its own rules despite Terry being cleared of a racially aggravated public order offence at Westminster Magistrates Court in July.

The 31-year-old was cleared in the court of law after claiming that he was trying to ascertain whether Ferdinand thought he had used the words in an offensive context earlier in the match, something which could not be disproved by lip readers or any independent witnesses.

After the initial verdict was announced, Terry said he was disappointed the commission had reached a different conclusion to the criminal trial but insisted he would wait to receive and consider the written judgment before deciding on any appeal.

Terry had already announced his international retirement from England duty prior to the hearing getting under way, arguing the FA had made his position “untenable”.

Prior to the verdict, the FA’s independent four-man commission had heard evidence from Terry and Ferdinand themselves, as well as supportive testimony from Ashley Cole, who also gave evidence in court.

Former England management team Fabio Capello and Franco Baldini both provided character references for Terry.

The scale of the player’s punishment has been hotly debated since the announcement of the guilty verdict last Thursday, with Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson one of a number of observers who felt he may have got off lightly.