GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT

That's the QPR way it seems.

Chelsea captain John Terry suffered the ultimate snub yesterday when the refusal of what was almost certainly the entire QPR team to shake his hand before the FA Cup fourth-round tie at Loftus Road forced the Football Association to abandon their much-vaunted pre-match ritual of respect. Mark Hughes admits a number of his players may have joined Anton Ferdinand in snubbing John Terry had today's pre-match handshake gone ahead.

JOEY BARTON [for all his faults] HAS A MIND OF HIS OWN

Ever since the FA introduced the practice in the 2008-2009 season as part of their Respect campaign, opposing teams have filed past each other before the kick-off for a mass shaking of hands.

It is the second time Terry has missed out on the most basic of sporting gestures. Two years ago, Wayne Bridge, then with Manchester City, refused to shake the hand of the man who, it was claimed, had been having an affair with Bridge’s former girlfriend, a claim that was denied by both John Terry and Bridge's former partner, Vanessa Perroncel ..... both The News of The World and the Mail on Sunday subsequently issued retractions and apologies following their articles and admitted the information was inaccurate.