Chelsea defender and former England captain John Terry has been the focal point in the media since last year when he was caught racially abusing another player on the pitch.
Terry went through a criminal case due to the incident and later was fined and suspended following an investigation by the FA Regulatory Commission. He had until Thursday at noon to contest the charges, but released a statement saying that he would not do so.
"After careful consideration, I have decided not to appeal against the FA judgment," Terry said in a statement released via his representatives Elite Management. "I want to take this opportunity to apologize to everyone for the language I used in the game against Queens Park Rangers last October.
Terry was fined £220,000 ($356,356) following a four-day disciplinary hearing for his actions against Rangers' defender Anton Ferdinand in a game last season.
"Although I'm disappointed with the FA judgment, I accept that the language I used, regardless of the context, is not acceptable on the football field or indeed in any walk of life," he said.
Chelsea won that match 1-0, but immediately after the game, footage appeared that showed Terry get up close with Ferdinand and revealed his verbal remarks.
"As I stated in the criminal case, with the benefit of hindsight my language was clearly not an appropriate reaction to the situation for someone in my position," Terry said. "My response was below the level expected by Chelsea Football Club, and by me, and it will not happen again."
"Looking forward, I will continue to do my part in assisting the club to remove all types of discriminatory behavior from football," said Terry. "I am extremely grateful for the consistent support of Chelsea FC, the fans and my family."
Chelsea most likely will punish Terry themselves, but also expressed support for the player.
"Chelsea Football Club believes John Terry has made the correct decision by not appealing against the FA judgment relating to language he used at the QPR match last October," a club statement read. "Chelsea also appreciates and supports John's full apology for the language he used. The club firmly believes such language is not acceptable and fell below the standards expected of John as a Chelsea player."
The suspension keeps him out of four games and will begin on Thursday. The next four games for Chelsea are against Tottenham, Manchester United and Swansea, as well as a League Cup match against United.
In another interesting wrinkle in the scandal, the Football Association also fined Chelsea star Ashley Cole for issues related to him writing a critical tweet about the Terry situation and hearing.
"Chelsea's Ashley Cole has been fined £90,000 ($140,000) after he admitted an FA charge in relation to a Twitter comment which was improper and/or brought the game into disrepute," the FA said on its website.
Terry, the 31-year-old soccer star and former captain of England announced his retirement in late September in response to the FA's decision to pursue charges.
"I am making this statement today in advance of the hearing of the FA disciplinary charge because I feel the FA, in pursuing charges against me where I have already been cleared in a court of law, have made my position with the national team untenable," Terry said at the time to the BBC.
The last match he played with England was a world cup qualifier on Sept. 7, a 5-0 win against Moldova.
The panel stated that Terry used "abusive and/or insulting words and/or behavior ... which included a reference to color and/or race." Terry faced a criminal court case at Westminster Magistrates' Court in July but was cleared. His defense of the situation was that all he did was repeat the words he was accused of using in a sarcastic manner.
During the proceedings Ferdinand testified that he was taunting Terry about his alleged extramarital affair with the former girlfriend of ex-England teammate Wayne Bridge. The magistrate said that his defense was "under the cold light of forensic examination, unlikely," but found that there wasn't enough evidence to prove he was lying.
Terry has had a controversial career in recent years, including issues related to his captaincy of England.
He first lost his position in 2010 following the allegations of an affair with a teammates spouse and then lost the captaincy again before the trial over the Ferdinand allegations. The decision by the FA to strip him the second time led to coach Fabio Capello quitting the club.
Terry's incident marks the second time in a year to that a Premier League player was banned for a racial incident.
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was suspended for eight matches after he racially abused Patrice Evra of Manchester United last year. He was found to have done it multiple times during the match, and the FA said in its verdict last year that "his guilt did not depend on whether he intended his words to be abusive or insulting." He was fined 40,000-pound for the incident as well.
