QPR remind fans about behaviour

QPR remind fans about behaviour

Published Jan. 26, 2012 1:16 p.m. ET

The match will be the first time Blues captain John Terry and Hoops defender Anton Ferdinand have faced each other since the Blues' 1-0 defeat in October.

Terry has been charged with racially abusing Ferdinand during the game and will appear in court on February 1. He has denied the charge.

Bruce Buck, chairman of Chelsea, and Tony Fernandes, his QPR counterpart, released a joint statement on Wednesday to show a united front ahead of the tie and asked for the game to be a "celebration of football".

Chelsea and QPR warned supporters that "abuse and discrimination has no place in football or society" and the latter have again reiterated that stance today.

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In a post on their official website the club said: "Queens Park Rangers Football Club is committed to confronting and eliminating discrimination, whether by reason of race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, ethnic and national origin, disability, nationality, religion or belief or gender reassignment.

"The club is proud of the atmosphere we have at Loftus Road and by working together we can stop any discrimination or behaviour that has no place in football.

"Loftus Road is governed by Ground Regulations and we would like to remind all visitors that by entering the ground they are agreeing to abide by these rules."

The statement added: "Racial, homophobic or discriminatory abuse, chanting or harassment is strictly forbidden and will result in arrest and/or ejection from the ground, and in addition the club will impose a ban for one or more matches.

"QPR will not tolerate sexual or racially based harassment, or other discriminatory behaviour, whether physical or verbal and where required we will work in full co-operation with the Metropolitan Police to provide CCTV footage and staff statements to ensure prosecution.

"Any actions that lead to prosecution or removal from the ground will result in a ban."

England captain Terry has denied allegations he racially abused Ferdinand during last October's game at Loftus Road and is due to appear before west London magistrates next week after being charged over the incident.

The match has been brought forward to a midday kick-off on the advice of police in a bid to minimise potential crowd problems, with both clubs keen to avoid any ill-feeling amongst fans.

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