Anton Ferdinand has 'Strong Feelings' About John Terry Race Row

Anton Ferdinand has spoken out for the first time about the clash with John Terry that led to a Football Association racism investigation into the Chelsea and England captain.

The QPR defender had remained tight-lipped over the alleged incident but broke his silence Monday afternoon to say he had "very strong feelings" about the event but did not wish to prejudice the FA enquiry.

"Today (Monday 31st October 2011) I finalised my statement with the Football Association with regards to the incident that occurred last Sunday at Loftus Road in our Barclays Premier League fixture against Chelsea," Ferdinand said in a statement released by QPR.

"I have very strong feelings on the matter, but in the interests of fairness and not wishing to prejudice what I am sure will be a very thorough enquiry by the FA, this will be my last comment on the subject until the enquiry is concluded.

"I would like to thank the Club, Tony Fernandes, Amit Bhatia, Neil Warnock, the supporters and my fellow professionals for their unwavering support."

On Tuesday, the FA announced it had launched an investigation into allegations that Terry racially abused the QPR defender during the west London derby earlier this month.

Terry has denied the allegations in a statement in which he said there had been a misunderstanding between the pair.

"I thought Anton was accusing me of using a racist slur against him. I responded aggressively, saying that I never used that term," the statement read.

"I would never say such a thing and I'm saddened that people would think so. I have known Anton for a long time and spoke to him about it after the game and there was no problem between us."

QPR confirmed Monday that the club will make no further comment until the results of the FA investigation are made public.