London, July 12 : Chelsea striker Ashley Cole has come out in defence of teammate John Terry, saying he should not have been made to stand trial over a case of alleged racial abuse.

"We shouldn''t be sitting here," The BBC quoted Cole, as saying in court.

Terry, 31, has denied racially insulting Queen Park Ranger star Anton Ferdinand.

According to a report, the England full back claimed that in the dressing room after the Loftus Road match last October, he saw Terry ask Ferdinand whether he thought he was being racist on the pitch, and added that the conversation ended with a handshake between both players.

Cole told the court there is always an exchange of abuse between certain players.

The Blues defender also denied that Ferdinand was only brought into the changing room because they were aware of YouTube footage of the incident.

Terry is accused of calling Anton Ferdinand a "f------ black c---" during a Premier League game on October 23 last year and claimed that he was "very angry and upset" at being accused of racism.

Ferdinand's prosecutor claimed that Terry had made a remark about having sex with Ferdinand''s girlfriend, in response to taunts about his alleged affair with a teammate''s ex-partner.

However, Terry told the court that he had merely repeated the words that Ferdinand mistakenly thought he had used.

The trial is to continue. (ANI)