Anton Ferdinand plans civil action against John Terry

Anton Ferdinand is considering taking a civil action against John Terry should the Chelsea defender escape serious punishment from the forthcoming Football Association inquiry into his alleged racist behaviour.

Ferdinand refused to shake hands with either Terry or Ashley Cole at Loftus Road yesterday (Saturday), and the Queens Park Rangers captain, Ji Sung Park, also refused to shake Terry's hand.

It was the first time Ferdinand and Terry had come face-to-face since the former England captain was acquitted in a magistrates court last July of a charge of racially abusing the QPR defender in the corresponding fixture last season. Cole appeared as a witness for Terry at that trial.

Terry now faces the FA hearing a week tomorrow, before a three-man Independent Regulatory Commission, with the hearing set to run for two to three days, after the player was charged with using "abusive and/ or insulting words and/ or behaviour" towards Ferdinand including "a reference to ethnic origin and/ or race". He denies the charge.

The scale of punishment he receives - if found guilty - could determine whether Terry has a future as an England international. It will also influence whether Ferdinand carries out the threat of a private prosecution.

Ferdinand's legal team are watching the FA proceedings and have written to the organisation to set out their willingness to co-operate and to seek clarification on how the case will proceed.

There had been some debate as to whether the phone records of Terry, and possibly those of Cole, plus the records of Chelsea officials - including text messages - could be requested by the FA to see whether they might shed light as to what happened on the day of the incident.

The Metropolitan Police chose not to pursue that avenue of inquiry and now the FA has also decided not to request such information.

It is understood that this has dismayed Ferdinand and his legal team, who might attempt to ascertain the information themselves should they pursue a civil action.

At the same time Terry has also grown frustrated with the drawn-out procedure, given that the incident occurred last October and he was acquitted in July. Terry was stripped of the England captaincy before the trial in a move that led to the departure of Fabio Capello as England manager.

Capello's successor, Roy Hodgson, has made it clear he wants to continue to pick Terry and caused a stir by stating that he hoped the defender would be "freed" and cleared by the commission.

If Terry is found guilty, the commission could deliver a range of punishments - most likely a three or four-match ban and a fine - but the wording of the findings could be most damaging.

Ferdinand's camp has also sought to clarify the roles played in the incident by some Chelsea officials and it is understood that the player, and his older brother Rio, are determined to pursue the matter if possible.

The pair have promised never to shake hands with Terry or Cole, despite Cole having been a close friend of Rio's. If Anton Ferdinand is not satisfied with the inquiry he will reconvene his legal team to pursue the possibility of High Court action, which could result in the whole case being reprised.

After yesterday's failed handshake, Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo said: "We offered and we have done our part and if other people feel differently that's not our problem."