Terry stripped of captaincy

John Terry has been removed as England captain and will not lead the side into Euro 2012, according to reports.

Football Association chairman David Bernstein contacted the other members of the organisation’s 12-strong board on Thursday to seek their views on Terry’s captaincy after the announcement that the Chelsea defender’s court case, where he is accused of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers’ Anton Ferdinand, will not take place until 9th July – after this summer’s European Championship.

English football’s governing body was wary of being accused of pre-judging that case, with Terry innocent until proven guilty.

Calls have been mounting for him to be stripped of the national armband, though, with prominent figures inside the FA of the opinion that he should not be allowed to lead his country while such a serious allegation hangs over him.

It is understood that Bernstein has spoken to Terry and informed him of the FA’s decision.

Decision

Terry has already skippered England since the alleged incident involving Ferdinand at Loftus Road in October 2011, in a friendly date with Sweden, but no criminal charges had been brought against him at that stage.

A decision is now understood to have been taken regarding his future as captain and the Chelsea centre-half will not take the armband for a meeting with Holland at Wembley on 29th February.

This is not the first time Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy, with Fabio Capello having opted to pass the honour to Rio Ferdinand in February 2010 – only to return him to the position later in the year.

It now remains to be seen whether national coach Capello will select the 31-year-old in his 23-man squad for Euro 2012, with England set to kick-off their quest for continental glory against France on 11th June.