British police have launched an investigation into claims that Chelsea and England football captain John Terry racially abused Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand.
Terry has strongly denied hurling a racist slur at Ferdinand during the stormy west London derby at Loftus Road two Mondays ago.
Police had earlier said only that they were assessing a complaint from a member of the public.
The claims against Terry emerged after video footage circulated on the internet appearing to show the England star using racist language.
Terry denied abusing Ferdinand, saying the footage had been misconstrued.
Ferdinand spoke out for the first time about the row today, saying he had "very strong feelings" about the incident which is also the subject of a Football Association investigation.
