QPR and Chelsea in handshake talks

 
Anton Ferdinand John Terry. Edition 12/07/2012 p67
Simon Johnson13 September 2012

QPR and Chelsea are understood to be in talks to ditch the pre-match handshake between the sides for a third time ahead of the derby at Loftus Road on Saturday.

The game is set to see John Terry and Anton Ferdinand face each other for the first time since the race trial in July, when the Chelsea captain was found not guilty of making a racially aggravated assault towards the QPR player.

Standard Sport understands the two clubs have been discussing how best to handle the intense nature of the fixture and plan to make an announcement before they each hold a pre-match press conference tomorrow.

It is believed Ferdinand is planning to refuse to shake Terry’s hand and that of Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole, who testified in Terry’s defence this summer.

There is also the possibility that Ferdinand’s team-mates may want to show their support for him by not shaking the duo’s hands either.

The Premier League had expected the pre-match handshake to go ahead and are unaware of any plans for the ritual to be cancelled, like it was when the sides met in the FA Cup last January and in the League at Stamford Bridge in April.

As Standard Sport revealed earlier this week, Terry is confident of recovering from an ankle injury to play in the fixture, while Cole is also making good progress from his ankle problem.

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