Chelsea defender John Terry said ON Thursday that he had decided not to appeal against a four-match ban and fine of 270,000 euro ($A344,000) for racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.

The former England captain was handed a ban by the Football Association (FA) last month despite being cleared of racism charges in a court of law earlier in the year.

Terry said in a statement: “After careful consideration, I have decided not to appeal against the FA judgment.

“I want to take this opportunity to apologise to everyone for the language I used in the game against Queens Park Rangers last October.

“Although I’m disappointed with the FA judgment, I accept that the language I used, regardless of the context, is not acceptable on the football field or indeed in any walk of life.”

He added: “As I stated in the criminal case, with the benefit of hindsight my language was clearly not an appropriate reaction to the situation for someone in my position.

“My response was below the level expected by Chelsea Football Club, and by me, and it will not happen again.”

He added that he would “continue to do my part in assisting the club to remove all types of discriminatory behaviour from football.”