Former West Ham and QPR defender Anton Ferdinand has released a new documentary titled: "Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism and Me" on the BBC, which explores his personal experiences with racism in professional football.
Ferdinand was involved in a high-profile incident involving ex-Chelsea captain John Terry and in the documentary, Ferdinand speaks about the exchange for the first time since 2011.
What did Terry say to Ferdinand?
During a Premier League meeting between Chelsea and QPR on October 23, 2011, Terry was alleged to have aimed a racist slur at Ferdinand in the second half.
It is alleged that Terry called Ferdinand a "f*cking black c***" after the two were embroiled in a heated verbal exchange.
Terry mouthing the words was caught on camera, but after the match, the former England captain stated that he said them in response after being accused of using them.
He said: "I've seen that there's a lot of comments on the internet with regards to some video footage of me in today's game.
"I'm disappointed that people have leapt to the wrong conclusions about the context of what I was seen to be saying to Anton Ferdinand.
"I thought Anton was accusing me of using a racist slur against him. I responded aggressively, saying that I never used that term. I would never say such a thing, and I'm saddened that people would think so."
Terry was later not found guilty by an FA independent regulatory commission, with the court stating that while “there is no doubt that John Terry uttered the words “f*cking black c***” at Anton Ferdinand,” it was deemed “impossible” to understand the context of the exchange.
Terry was handed a four-match ban and a fine of £220,000 and was later stripped of the England armband.
Ferdinand revisited the infamous incident in his new BBC documentary, "Anton Ferdinand: Football, Racism and Me", released on November 30.
In the documentary, Ferdinand spoke of the racist abuse he experienced from social media in the aftermath of the incident.
Because he was told not to comment on the incident in public, he was prevented from speaking out about racism in sport - something that he regrets to this day.
"I still carry a feeling of letting people down for not speaking up," Ferdinand said in the documentary.
"I still feel guilt and it eats away at me more than anything and I don't know how to get rid of it.
"At the time I was angry more than anything and I knew that because I was angry, if I spoke out about it then I would have become a stereotype of a young black man who fires from the hip and shouts his mouth off."
Ferdinand's older brother, former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, contributed to the documentary and also spoke of his dismay of not being able to be more supportive of his brother when the event unfolded - describing himself as feeling "powerless".
He and Terry were both in the England squad as team-mates at the time.
"The incident was probably the catalyst for the downturn of his career," Ferdinand said of his younger brother.
"Who knows how I would have reacted if at every stadium I went to people were making you feel like you were the instigator and aggressor in the situation when you were really the victim.
"Shouting obscenities all the time regarding the case so you can never get away from it.
"I was confused and disappointed with the way it unravelled and we never really spoke about it - I don't know why we never did in depth.
"Everyone was saying, bar a few close friends, family, mum especially and dad, were telling us to say nothing - let the lawyers deal with it and let it go to court and it will be sorted out.
"And I feel guilty because all I kept thinking was - how is this happening to my brother? I should have spoken out but I just felt powerless."
