• Terry pleads not guilty as judge sets trial date of 9 July
• Defender denies racially abusing Anton Ferdinand

John Terry will be free to captain England at the summer’s European Championship after his criminal trial over allegations he racially abused the Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match was set for 9 July.

The Chelsea defender, who did not attend Wednesday’s first hearing into the case at Westminster magistrates’ court, is accused of a racially aggravated public order offence made in an altercation with Ferdinand during his side’s 1-0 defeat at Loftus Road on 23 October. A not guilty plea was entered by his legal counsel, George Carter-Stephenson QC, in the 31-year-old’s absence before the district judge Howard Riddle.

The prosecution had initially hoped the case would be heard in mid-March, but the trial has instead been held over until the summer after the judge considered Terry’s playing commitments for club and country over the course of the next four months. The district judge also took into account a letter submitted to the court by the Chelsea chief executive, Ron Gourlay, in which he had appealed for the trial to be delayed given the defence counsel intend to call a number of Chelsea players and staff as character witnesses.

The club were concerned that their preparations for matches might be disrupted by the case. Chelsea could potentially be involved in the Champions League final on 19 May, with England then due to play two friendly fixtures – against Norway and Belgium on 26 May and 2 June – before departing for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, a tournament which does not end until 1 July.

The court also took into account Ferdinand’s commitments to QPR over the remainder of the current Premier League campaign, which does not end until 13 May, as well as a holiday he had booked for June and his club’s pre-season tour of Asia, which is scheduled for 16-27 July. Judge Riddle even acknowledged the possibility that the players might then be involved in the Great Britain Olympic men’s football squad in setting the date for trial, with five days initially put aside for the process.

The England manager, Fabio Capello, has stressed that Terry will be considered innocent unless proven guilty and will therefore retain the captaincy of the national side, but has not spoken on the subject since formal charges against Terry were announced. The Football Association’s own independent inquiry into the incident at Loftus Road is currently suspended pending the result of the criminal proceedings. However, the fact that the trial will now take place after Euro 2012 does place Rio Ferdinand, Anton’s older brother and the current England vice-captain, in a potentially awkward position given that he could be selected for the national squad to play alongside Terry with the issue still unresolved.

The Manchester United defender has not commented on the case publicly and missed England’s friendlies against Spain and Sweden in November through injury, but will confront Terry directly at Stamford Bridge on Sunday when the champions play Chelsea in the Premier League. At present, it is anticipated that he will agree to shake Terry’s hand in the pre-match formalities.

If found guilty, Terry could be fined up to £2,500 though the implications for his captaincy of both the England and Chelsea teams, as well as his numerous personal sponsorship deals, would be more serious. “Now that the court has fixed a date for trial, Mr Terry looks forward to the opportunity to clear his name,” read a statement released by his legal team, Grosvenor Law. “Mr Terry has consistently and resolutely maintained that his well-publicised remarks were made in the belief that he was being accused of racist abuse by Mr Ferdinand.

“Mr Terry was shocked and disgusted by that accusation at the time. Mr Terry denies making any racist statement, and will establish in court that he is not guilty of such offence. Mr Terry has never racially abused another player in his entire career.” The Chelsea manager, André Villas-Boas, suggested on Saturday that he would consider giving Terry some time off if necessary over the months ahead in order to clear his name.

John TerryChelseaQPRDominic Fifield
guardian.co.uk