Anton Ferdinand

Chelsea defender John Terry has decided not to appeal against a four-match ban and fine of £220,000 for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, his management company have confirmed.

The QPR defender Anton Ferdinand and his brother Rio have brought up the issue of the John Terry racism row after violence and allegations of racism at end of the England U-21 match in Serbia:

Chelsea defender John Terry is set to be available for his side's match against Arsenal on Saturday despite being banned for racially abusing another player, reports ITV Sport.

The former England captain is expected to be available for the game at the Emirates Stadium because his ban will not start until an appeals process has been concluded.

Terry has 14 days to appeal an FA misconduct charge for comments made to QPR's Anton Ferdinand at a Premier League match last year.

If the 31-year-old does appeal, any hearing may not take place until the end of next month, meaning Terry could be available to play throughout October.

The Blues face Manchester United, Tottenham and Norwich City in the Premier League next month.

An FA independent regulatory commission banned Terry for four matches and fined him £220,000 on Thursday.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has defended Chelsea captain John Terry after he was found guilty of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand, insisting "he is not a racist."

"We (Chelsea) had a squad where we had 12 African players in the squad. It was a fantastic squad and he had always a great relation with every one of them," he told CNN.

"Please don't say that he is a racist because I know what I am saying...Drogba will say, Geremi will say, Makelele will say, all of them will say that he is not a racist."

After John Terry was given a four-match ban and fined £220,000 by the Football Association for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, Kick it Out's Lord Herman Ouseley told BBC Radio 5 Live:

The footballer Joey Barton has also criticised the FA's decision over John Terry as "a shambles" compared to his own 12-game ban for violent conduct.

The QPR midfielder was suspended for attacking Manchester City players Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero after he was sent off in the last match of the 2011/12 season.

It is likely that John Terry will still be available to play for Chelsea against Arsenal on Saturday as the ban imposed by the Football Association does not start until after the appeals process has been concluded.

The defender has 14 days from the receipt of the written reasons for the decision, and if he does appeal then that hearing may not take place until the end of next month.

Former footballer Stan Collymore has tweeted his reaction to the FA finding John Terry guilty of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.