John Terry 'shouted racist obscenities at Anton Ferdinand' He was ordered to take his place in the dock for the start of the trial despite asking for permission to sit beside his lawyer. Defence barrister George Carter-Stephenson QC requested that Terry be allowed to sit beside him in the well of the court, but District Judge Howard Riddle rejected the request. He was later allowed to leave the dock temporarily to watch video footage. The court heard that Terry told Ferdinand to "f--- off" and also called him a "f------ k---head" as the pair exchanged insults. Opening the prosecution today, Duncan Penny said: "The Crown alleges that the words he used demonstrated hostility based on Mr Ferdinand's membership or presumed membership of a racial group." The court heard that Terry maintains he was only sarcastically repeating words that Ferdinand wrongly thought he had used. Mr Penny said: "The Crown alleges that the defendant, most probably in response to physical gestures being made by Mr Ferdinand which the defendant understood to refer to the well-publicised allegation of an extra-marital affair with a team-mate's wife, shouted at Mr Ferdinand." He went on: "The Crown's case is that the words were abusive and insulting in a straightforward sense and that the term 'f------ black c---' was uttered as an abusive insult demonstrating hostility based on Mr Ferdinand's membership of a racial group. They were uttered by the defendant in response to goading by Mr Ferdinand on the issue of his extra-marital affair, rather than by way of exaggerated and instant querying of a perceived false allegation. Flash point: John Terry and Anton Ferdinand clashed when QPR played Chelsea at Loftus Road in October 2011 REUTERS Terry was allowed out of the dock into the well of the court to view footage of the alleged insult. The case is being heard by Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle, and there is no jury. Both television clips and unbroadcast footage of the incident, which would normally be used for training purposes, were shown to the court. It is claimed that Ferdinand said something about "s----ing ya mate's missus" and made fist gestures, before Terry responded. The court was told that Chelsea team-mates Ashley Cole and John Mikel Obi were nearby when insults were traded, but they will not be called as witnesses as part of the prosecution case. Terry said in a statement to the Football Association five days after the incident that he and Ferdinand had been exchanging "verbals" and he had made a gesture to imply Mr Ferdinand had bad breath. He said: "We're still having a, sort of, ding-dong, if you like. That's when, as I said before, he said 'black c---'. Now clearly, as I said before, I don't think he's calling me a black c---, but at the same time I take quite a strong offence. The England defender said he was not offended by the taunts about the alleged affair with Wayne Bridge's ex-girlfriend, because "it's not the first time I've heard it, so it's with a pinch of salt a little bit now." After the match, which took place at QPR's ground Loftus Road, Terry asked a steward to get Ferdinand from the QPR dressing room. Terry said in his statement: "It's myself, Anton and Ash (Ashley Cole), nobody else, and I said to Anton, 'was you accusing me of calling you a black c---?' "That was my exact words to him, and he said 'No, not at all."' Later in the interview he added: "I'm being honest and open with you guys, that I didn't mean it in the context that, if you watch the video and me, watching the video, you can quite easily say that doesn't look good. But at the same time, in the context of what I thought Anton accused me of, you know, no-one can argue what my feelings were at that time. Immediately after the match, Ferdinand did not think that Terry had used racist words, the court heard. He said: "It's handbags innit - it's what happens on the pitch," and the two shook hands. But later, Ferdinand's girlfriend showed him footage posted on YouTube, and he believed Terry had used the racist insult. It is claimed that Ferdinand made a reference to "s----ing Bridges' missus" during the exchange. In a statement made to police last November, Terry said he was offended by the accusation that he had used racist language. He said his words to the other player were meant to make it clear that he had not used a racist insult, and that Ferdinand was a "k---head" for thinking that he had. The statement read: "Whilst footballers are used to industrial language, using racist terms is completely unacceptable whatever (the) situation. I was completely taken aback by this remark as I have never been accused of something like that and I did not take his remark lightly at all, and took strong offence to his suggestion.