Soccer:Former Football Association chairman Lord Triesman has hit out at the decision to ban John Terry for only four matches for racist abuse.

Chelsea captain Terry was handed the suspension and a £220,000 (€273,000) fine after being found guilty of using a racist slur towards Anton Ferdinand by an independent FA regulatory commission.

The ban was half of that given to Liverpool striker Luis Suarez for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

The FA commission said Terry had been given a lesser ban because the "racist insult was issued only once", as opposed to the repeated use Suarez was ruled to have engaged in.

But Lord Triesman told the BBC: "It may be when you look at all the detail they thought there were reasons for [it]. I can't see it."

Terry is due to decide during the international break whether to appeal his guilty verdict.

Lord Triesman added: "He's within his rights to appeal. My own view is that it would be more sensible to apologise and accept it's not a good standard," he said. “I just don't believe in this day and age that anybody can think that it's okay, and that you don't owe an apology, not least to the other player."