Terry race row escalates as Ferdinand receives "graphic" death threat and Capello is told to stay silent

The John Terry race row saga has escalated still further with the news that victim Anton Ferdinand has received an “extremely graphic” death threat and England boss Fabio Capello has been warned NOT to talk about the case by the Met Police in London.

With the Spain friendly looming at Wembley on Saturday – England have enjoyed crushing the world champions at what they like to call the home of football – Capello opted to pick Terry in his squad last night.

But the Italian “generalissimo” opted to axe Wayne Rooney – who will be suspended for the first three games of Euro 2012 next year – and, ironically, Anton’s brother Rio.

Should the FA and the Met Police decide Terry is guilty of calling QPR’s Anton “a f***ing black c***” – and from what I saw on YouTube before the Premier League removed the footage, he certainly did – Terry will surely be withdrawn from the game.

The FA have run a “Kick It Out” campaign against racism for the past six years and it appears to be working with monkey chants and banana throwing reduced to a tiny minority of moronic fans. From the days of the early 80s when black players were targeted, English football has moved to a more civilised level where black players are barely accused of anything other than blinding talent.

The thought of Terry playing in a prestige friendly at Wembley against the 2010 FIFA world champions is simply not acceptable after his regrettable outburst – and the way he attempted to wriggle out of the situation by getting Ashley Cole to enter the QPR dressing room on October 23, where the Chelsea captain assured Rio’s little brother: “We’re all okay, right?”

Terry then tried to explain his outburst was in response to Ferdinand accusing him of calling him a “fbc”... but Anton has since emerged to insist he did no such thing. The first Anton heard of the racist remark was when friends directed him to the YouTube footage. Ferdinand has since reported his side of the story to the FA and the Met Police have stepped in after a complaint from a member of the public.

But that is not the end of the matter. Chelsea fans in Genk, Belgium last week chanted further racist drivel against Anton and today the Sun and the Daily Telegraph in England reveal an “extremely graphic” death threat delivered by hand to QPR’s Acton training ground last Friday.

Police say Anton, 26, and “members of his close family” must now fit a panic alarms at their homes along with further “immediate precautionary measures”.

The Met are trying to track down the “sicko” who sent the death threat – club officials decided Anton himself should not read the contents.

In a further development – which I also revealed in my regular Monday morning slot on eNews in South Africa yesterday morning – England boss Fabio Capello has been instructed not to comment on the row.

On Saturday, Capello told the Sunday newspapers: “In my experience I have never seen, never heard and never found racism problems in England football. Racist problems between the players do not exist."

But Capello now appears to have been silenced – and the police have also urged Liverpool and Manchester United not to answer questions on the scandalous use of the n-word by Uruguayan Luis Suarez against Patrice Evra a week before the Loftus Road incident.

Amid a growing call to punish racism in sport – particularly after Tiger Woods’ ex-caddie Steve Williams was revealed to have used the words “black arsehole” against the golfer who earned him millions – Terry is likely to be withdrawn from the Spanish inquisition.

But reports suggest the 30-year-old from Barking, no stranger to controversy, will be recalled from the subsequent friendly against Sweden four days later. Terry's team-mate Frank Lampard looks likely to take the captain's armband against Spain - with memories of previous friendlies against the Iberians spoiled by racial chants.

Take a break Tiger. Come back soon, you're a golfer, not a priest.

THE statement on Tiger Woods' website is short and to the point. He's had enough. Enough of the scandal, enough of the digging into his private life, enough of reading about the endless list of so-called "birdies" he is alleged to have "chipped out of the rough".

The world's biggest sporting attraction is taking "an indefinite break" in an attempt to "repair the damage I've done". It's heart-rending stuff.

But he's going down fighting - bowing out after winning an injunction in Britain to stop further allegations and even, the US media are suggesting, the publication of naked pictures of the World's No1 golfer's "equipment". And we're not talking about his 1 wood.

As he heads off for what his agents IMG are calling "a hiatus", the statement reads: "I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try.

"I would like to ask everyone for their understanding. What's most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing.

"After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person. Again, I ask for privacy for my family and I am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period."

Will it bring to an end the endless tabloid stories about his affairs, brought on by the late-night car crash two weeks ago. He hasn't been seen since, we haven't been able to assess the nature of his "facial injuries" or how they were caused when his wife got wind of what was about to break.

Without that closure, the machine grinds on. Just yesterday, Britain's up-market Daily Telegraph, by no means a scandal sheet, ran a story about one of the alleged mistresses - what's the birdie count now? Six, seven? - Jamie Jungers with a picture of her posing in a bikini with a motorbike. The 26-year-old Las Vegas cocktail waitress has been on telly in the US claiming she didn't get paid for sex and only earned "a broken heart" from her relationship with Tiger.

These are torrid times for the once squeaky-clean golfer, though his major sponsors Nike say they will stand by him. But for how long? And when will we see the world's greatest golfer back on course again?

Soon we hope. He's a golfer, not a priest.

Day one in South Africa. Not bad. Not bad at all.

SO here we are in South Africa. Centurion to be precise. A week before England's opening Test against South Africa at the local stadium.

And are we isolated? Stuck out near the tip of the dark continent while life goes on around us? Of course not!

We're right at the hub of things here! Got Manchester United at Wolfsburg in front of us, Michael Owen has just completed his hat-trick. Chelsea are on another SuperSport channel, winning 2-1 against Nicosia Apoel in Cyprus. Two CSKA Moscow have just been found guilty of doping, which could see Wolfsberg go through anyway.

The information super highway is buzzing with Tiger Woods stories. I'm tired of kicking the poor bloke. Today his mother-in-law, a Swedish politician, has been rushed to hospital with late night "stomach pains". And we read that the Florida police want to supoena the hospital for his blood test results after last Friday's crash. A source has said he was drinking and on pain-killers. Rubbish of course, and I would never give those scurrilous allegations space on this blog. Meanwhile the tabloids take his "birdie" tally to seven at the last count.

Poor bloke. He should come and live here, in Africa. It's warm, it's growing fast, and the Gautrain link is proudly forging a path from here to the Oliver Tambo airport and then on to Johannesburg, in time for the World Cup kick-off on June 11 next year.

There is no finer place to be, though obviously missing a possibly white Christmas at home for the Test series is a major sacrifice.

It's a special country, South Africa. When you consider the warped nature of Apartheid here in the 1980s, today has been a joy. Straight from the airport to the Wanderers, where the immaculate ladies of Cricket South Africa handed over my accreditation for the four Tests. Then on to Vodacom City in Midrand, halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria, where dozens of helpful staff helped me get my USB internet access sorted out dirt cheap.

Then a quick, sultry swim, a sleep... and off to the local pizzeria in Centurion, where the service is magnificent and the Italian father-and-son combination who run the place are offering a World Cup of magnificent pasta and spaghetti next winter. Get out here and let Enzo show you a World Cup to remember. He claims the Italians will be based just down the road in the local sports academy in Centurion, halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria. Great chat with him and his boy.

Bliss. Especially when you combine it with the wine. The lable said simply: ZULU. Not seen that before. Got a kick like an African warrior too.

Oops! Owen has just finished brilliantly to make it 3-1. Finishing like that deserves a World Cup space. But then Man U and Chelsea had qualified weeks ago. Out in Adelaide, the unfancied West Indies, with Chris Gayle in frightening form, have held the arrogant Australian cricketers to a draw.

And tomorrow night, Arsenal and hapless Liverpool on the box. Things could be worse.

And what about my real job? Covering the cricket for the Evening Standard and talkSPORT? Not good news in East London, a mere 1,000 miles away from my comfortable position in front of the telly.

James Anderson is ruled out of the opening two-day match against an Invitational XI at Buffalo Park tomorrow. His knee is so bad they only let him bat in the nets. Come on Jimmy, get well soon. And then life really will be idyllic when that first Test begins ten minutes down the road on 16 December.

Tiger Woods: He's let his wife down, his family down (and his pants down)

THE Sun's front page splash today sums it up rather neatly. "I've let my wife down, I've let my family down (and he's let his trousers down)".

The Daily Mail, joining in the gleeful coverage of an icon's downfall, picture all three alleged holes in one: New York events planner Rachel Uchitel, 34 (who denies everything), Las Vegas cocktail waitress Jaimee Grubbs, 24 (who has a voicemail to back her story) and marketing manager Kalika Moquin, 27 (who says it's "not appropriate to comment").

So do we exult in the denouement of the world's top golfer now he's been exposed, less than a week after the mysterious 2.25am car crash outside his Florida home? Do we say "told you so" when he released a statement yesterday saying: "I regret those transgressions with all my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behaviour my family deserves"?

No, we should be saddened by it. Distressed when a role model falls so heavily from grace. Sympathetic about the fact that, when you are forced by your talent to live in the public eye, the pain is all the greater. And all the man wants to do is hit a golf ball a very, very long way towards a flag.

Sometimes the media gets blamed for the downfall of icons like Woods, the first sportsman to earn $1billion. On this occasion, it's hard to argue that. Nobody could have kept a lid on what was going on for long. And clearly, when wife Elin got wind of her husband's alleged indiscretions, she reacted and, despite Woods slamming the "malicious rumours", we are finally getting close to what really happened that morning. A Japanese television station have issued a virtual version of what they think happened, featuring Elin running along, smashing his windows. That may not be factual, but it's what people conjured up when they haven't got the truth.

Of course it was impossible for Tiger to come out immediately and admit to what was going on. Instead, he disappeared for 12 hours into the bowels of a local hospital, refused to see the police four times when he got home and was finally given a paltry slap on the wrist for his sins.

The real cost to Tiger? About £5,000 in damage to his Cadillac Escapade, £99 for "careless driving" and £2,000 to fix the fire hydrant he crashed into.

Then there's the facial injuries we still haven't seen... and this week's Tiger-sponsored US tour event will have to do without their star name amid promises to refund disappointed spectators.

And then we begin to move into the real high-cost areas. If Elin, mother of his two children, sues for divorce - and she appears to have every cause - it may just be the world's biggest ever settlement.

Then there are the sponsors. Gillette's discomfort has already been heavily publicised. Tiger, Thierry Henry and Roger Federer are all pictured together (above) in their latest campaign, now all three appear to be on the slide. Henry for his handball for France against Ireland, Federer for not making the final at the London Arena last week and Tiger for what he calls "personal sins".

Woods earns £6m a year from the razor makers, £12m from Nike, £12m from sports drink Gatorade, £5m from EA Sports video games, £3m from telephone providers AT&T, £3m from watch-makers Tag Heuer and £2m from General Mills. But the image they buy has been tarnished forever.

He will pay the price. And the stories will continue for weeks yet, with his reappearance set to reignite the whole situation. We have to ask: will he ever be the same again? Does he deserve all this? Will he be scarred for life, physically or psychologically?

That is our job, asking questions like that. But in truth the best sign off to this sorry tale belongs to Woods and what he said in his statement yesterday. Let's leave it there:

"Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. For the last week my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives.

"For me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one's own family.

"I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves."

Tiger Woods: careless driving. Investigation over.

OKAY, okay, all of us muck-raking journalists can crawl back in our holes now. That mystery Tiger Woods car crash is sorted. Sport's first dollar billionaire looks like he'll be fined $164 (that's about £99 in English money) and given four points on his licence for "careless driving".

Forget the fact that, curiously, both front windows on his Cadillac SUV were smashed after he hit a tree and a fire hydrant outside his Florida home at 2.25am on Friday morning. Ignore the 12 hours after that, when we knew nothing of the world's No1 golfer going to hospital under somebody else's name. Rachel Uchitel, the New York glamour girl who follows the golf tour with some gusto, played no part in this. Perish the thought. Swedish supermodel wife Elin may have used his golf buggy and two of his clubs to smash her way into the car. But that was just to save her husband, as she stood over him, unconscious for six minutes after the crash.

And those hoping to see Tiger at his own golf tournament, the Chevron World Challenge, this week will get their money back. He can't make it. It's those "facial lacerations" caused by the crash I guess. The airbags simply didn't deploy.

The truth? Tiger was just driving badly. And not on a golf course - he'd never do that of course.

Maj Cindy Williams from Florida Highway Patrol, one of an increasingly frustrated police delegation who have been refused access to Tiger four times since the crash, says he will not face criminal charges, just a traffic citation for careless driving.

If convicted, Woods faces the merest of slaps on the wrist. Less than £100. And Maj Williams tells us: "Mr Woods has satisfied the requirements of Florida law by providing his driver's licence, registration and proof of insurance to us."

Apparently there is "not enough evidence" to ask for medical evidence or to subpoena Tiger or his club-wielding wife and mother of his two children, who may or may not have been angry about pictures of Ms Uchitel, who lost her fiance in the 9/11 bombings, entering Tiger's hotel in Melbourne, Australia a fortnight ago. We must accept her denials of anything dodgy going on.

And no, indeedy, there were no claims of domestic violence "from any party". Investigation closed. Amazing how easily these things are cleared up if you've won 14 majors. And not many of us are in that category.

So Tiger will be able to complain about our throwing about of "unfounded rumours". And we must explain, in his words: "This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again."

And I am absolutely sure there will be not mention of this in a money-spinning biography in future years. Absolutely sure. Investigation closed. I'll go back in my hole.

Tiger Woods: It happened something like this

SO the truth about Tiger Woods' accident in Florida yesterday morning at 2.25am is beginning to leak out. It wasn't just a simple car crash as anyone with a nose for these things suspected all along.

And yes, it did involve the allegations surrounding Rachel Uchitel, a New York-based events planner who follows the world's No1 golfer around the world.

According to most sources this morning, Tiger's Swedish supermodel wife Elin Nordegren, 29, reacted to National Enquirer pictures leaked on the internet, showing Uchitel entering a hotel in Melbourne where Tiger was staying when he played in Australia this month.

Tiger may be the world's first sporting billionaire but no marriage can survive such pressure. Elin, mother of his two children, lashed out. Tiger leapt into his Cadillac SUV and crashed into the now-infamous fire hydrant and tree.

Some reports suggest Elin then helped him out of the car by smashing the rear windscreen with a golf club. Others are more sceptical, suggesting her actions caused the crash.

Suspicions over the crash were first raised when it emerged that a total news blackout had surrounded the incident for 12 hours. There were also suggestions Tiger had been admitted to hospital under an assumed name.

Details remain sketchy but what is clear is that, after the crash, Tiger was unconscious for six minutes and has sustained some kind of facial injuries, from the accident or from his wife, or a combination of both.

Gary Bruhn, mayor of Windermere, just outside Orlando, where Tiger lives, said: "There were facial lacerations and he was treated. This was an accident. Nothing special."

But Windermere Police Chief Daniel Saylor said Elin was standing over Tiger in the street as shocked neighbours gathered. One local brought him a pillow and a blanket.

Police arrived to find the champion semi-conscious. Saylor said: "He had lacerations to his upper and lower lip, and a little bit of blood in his mouth. They asked his wife what happened. She said the car hit a fire hydrant then a tree.

"When he woke up, he tried to get up and lost consciousness. Ms Nordegren was very distraught, very upset."

Tiger's agents IMG and the hospital both moved to calm the growing speculation, suggesting he was "fine" and in "good condition" but until Tiger himself talks - and shows the world his injuries - the speculation will continue.

What is clear is that drink was not involved. But Tiger could face a charge for not wearing a seat-belt. Hopefully sensible forces in Orange County will choose to overlook that minor offence on a night when Tiger's life, for once, veered wildly off the fairway.

And the worst drive of his life will soon become consigned to history.

But Ms Uchitel, 34, whose husband died in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre, will not be able to slip quietly out of the limelight.

The New York Daily News said today she sent them a message from her Facebook page that read: "There is NO relationship with Tiger. I resent my name being slung thru the mud."

But she told the New York Post: "God forbid Tiger got into a car wreck because of this false report of him having an affair."

Tiger is currently holed up at home at when officers from the Florida Highway Patrol tried to interview him, they were turned away.

What is clear is that this is no sports story. Just a near-tragic tale of ordinary life, which can leave even the super-rich lying injured in the road.

Perhaps it's time to return to England's thrashing at the hands of South Africa in Cape Town yesterday, or Arsenal's crucial showdown against Chelsea tomorrow. It feels more comfortable.

Tiger Woods "fine" says agent, hospital say he's in "good condition"

TIGER WOODS is "just fine" according to his agent Mark Steinberg as the mystery over his early morning car crash deepened. Early reports suggested the world's No1 golfer was seriously injured in an accident near his home in Isleworth, north of Tampa in Florida.

But both the mayor of the town, Gary Bruin, and Steinberg, vice-president of the International Management Group, have denied those reports, insisting Woods has been released from hospital with facial injuries after hitting a tree and a fire hydrant.

A statement from the Health Central Hospital in Ocoee said: "Tiger Woods was in a minor accident. He came in last night and was released today. He was in good condition."

The hospital would not say what injuries he had suffered amid rumours he checked in under a different name.

Nobody else was in the car but police say the incident was "not alcohol-related" - though one report suggested "charges are pending" and that "an investigation is pending".

Woods was driving his Cadillac SUV which apparently ricocheted off the fire hydrant into the tree. The airbags did not detonate, suggesting he was travelling at low speed according to Florida Today.

The accident happened at 2.25am local time this morning - and news of the incident took over 12 hours to emerge. Woods lives in Orange County with his wife, Swedish supermodel Elin Nordegren, 29, and their son and daughter - they met at the 2001 British Open.

Woods has won 93 tournaments including 14 “majors” and was the world’s highest-paid professional athlete last year, earning an estimated $110 (£66 million) from winnings and endorsements. He became sports first ever billionaire dollar earner earlier this year.