The Premier League has suspended the pre-match handshake at Sunday's game between Chelsea and QPR due to the legal situation involving John Terry and Anton Ferdinand.

Ferdinand's lawyers had advised him not to shake Terry's hand, the first time the pair would have met in a Premier League match since the Chelsea captain was accused of racially abusing the QPR player in October. After taking legal advice, the Premier League has now decided to suspend the handshake convention.

A Premier League statement said: "The Premier League position on the pre-match handshake convention remains consistent. In all normal circumstances it must be observed. However, after discussions with both Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers about the potential and specific legal context in relation to John Terry and Anton Ferdinand the decision has been taken to suspend the handshake convention for Sunday's match."

Terry was charged with a racially aggravated public order offence in December last year following the game. The former England captain has vowed to fight "tooth and nail" to clear his name in his trial, which takes place on 9 July.

The Football Association cancelled the pre-match handshake when the two clubs met in the FA Cup in January but the Premier League had initially said the handshake between the two sides should go ahead this weekend.

That had been its policy when Liverpool met Manchester United after Luis Suárez's ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra, when the Liverpool striker then caused a storm by snubbing the French defender. The Premier League felt it had little option in relation to Sunday's game at Stamford Bridge after legal advice. Ferdinand's lawyers had advised their client that to shake Terry's hand might prejudice the trial of the Chelsea centre-back, while Terry's legal team suggested that it could also prejudice the trial if the QPR player refused to do so. Ferdinand maintains he is in the right frame of mind to play despite the hostile atmosphere he will face in Sunday's game.

The Premier League says the fair play ritual, which it introduced into the top flight in 2004, remains an important part of the game. Its chief executive, Richard Scudamore, said in March: "It's not a handshake that says everybody loves everybody else. It's a handshake that says: 'Whatever crap's gone on before now and whatever crap will go on after this game is over, for the next 90 minutes, let's just play a game of football.'"

Terry regained the England captaincy in March 2011 after originally losing the armband following newspaper allegations about his private life, but he lost the honour again in February after he was charged by the Crown Prosecution Service for allegedly racially abusing Ferdinand.

The pre-match handshake has been a source of controversy this season, with Suárez refusing to shake Evra's hand before Liverpool's 2-1 defeat at United in February. That followed on from Evra accusing Suárez of racially abusing him. The Liverpool player later apologised and served a suspension when the FA found Evra's allegations to be proved.