Mourinho insists Terry 'is not a racist'

PARIS (AFP) - Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho leapt to the defence of John Terry on Thursday, insisting the controversial defender is not a racist.

Terry was handed a four-match ban by the English Football Association (FA) and fined £220,000 (S$440,000) after being found guilty of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers' Anton Ferdinand.

The 31-year-old has 14 days from receiving the written reasons for the decision to lodge an appeal against a decision relating to an incident that took place during Chelsea's match away to QPR at Loftus Road on October 23 last year.

"He is not a racist," said Mourinho, who coached Terry at Chelsea from 2004 to 2007.