FORMER Middlesbrough midfielder Stuart Ripley was at the heart of one of the biggest sporting stories of the week as he was part of the three-man FA panel that found John Terry guilty of using racist language towards Anton Ferdinand .

Middlesbrough-born Ripley made 311 appearances for the Teessiders before going on to win a Premier League winners' medal with Blackburn Rovers and represent England.

At the end of his playing career, he enrolled on a degree in law and French at the University of Central Lancashire, graduating with a first in 2007.

He then completed a Legal Practice Course to become fully qualified as a media lawyer, and currently works for Manchester firm Brabners Chaffe Street advising footballers and clubs on disciplinary matters.

Despite only having being qualified for two years, he is a member of the FA's judicial panel and was drafted on to the three-man group that sat in judgement on Terry this week.

Ripley sat alongside Craig Moore, a Leeds-based barrister, and Maurice Armstrong, the head of Huntingdonshire FA, as Terry was found guilty and fined £220,000 and handed a four-match ban.

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NEWCASTLE and Sunderland are both in the running to host matches in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, but both cities' hopes could be dashed by the Premier League's reluctance to allow football grounds to be used.

Both Newcastle City Council and Sunderland City Council have expressed an interest in holding matches at St James' Park and the Stadium of Light respectively, and have the tacit agreement of Newcastle United and Sunderland.

However, with the 2015 tournament due to take place in September, slap bang in the middle of the football season, the Premier League have voiced concerns about the potential disruption to their schedule.

The 2015-16 season is part of the new £1bn-a-year television deal that was agreed earlier this year, and Premier League officials do not want to inconvenience broadcasters who will be paying £6.5m-a-match for the right to screen live games.

In addition, the Premier League claim their schedule will not be confirmed until June 2015, far too late for England Rugby 2015, a subsidiary company of the Rugby Football Union who have been charged with the task of organising the World Cup, and who have pledged to confirm their final list of venues at the start of next year.

Premier League officials are due to meet with representatives of ER 2015 next month in an attempt to agree a compromise, but at the moment a resolution appears unlikely.

Newcastle City Council could still make a separate bid to host matches at Kingston Park, but the reduced capacity would not be particularly appealing to ER 2015, who need to maximise ticket sales in order to meet the cost of staging the tournament.