Ferdinand-Terry row casts shadow over London derby

LONDON (AFP) - It is nearing a year since Chelsea's visit to Queens Park Rangers (QPR) sparked controversy but this west London derby continues to be overshadowed by allegations relating to John Terry and Anton Ferdinand.

Since that meeting on Oct 23, both clubs have changed managers and overhauled their teams - Rangers especially so - while Terry's appearance at Westminster magistrates court ended with the Chelsea defender being found not guilty of racially abusing Ferdinand.

The issue is not closed, however, with Terry still facing Football Association (FA) charges relating to the incident which will be heard at the end of the month.

Tensions, then, still exist and, with Ferdinand apparently indicating he will refuse to shake the hand of Terry, the two clubs were in talks ahead of this game that are set to see the cancellation of the usual pre-match handshake.