John Terry stripped of England captaincy
John Terry dropped as England captain by Fabio Capello, FA confirms
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By Alistair Potter. |  |
Friday, 05, Feb 2010 05:18
By inthenews.co.uk staff.
John Terry has been dropped as England captain by Fabio Capello, the Football Association has confirmed.
The defender was summoned to Wembley for a short meeting with the England manager this afternoon.
"After much thought, I have made the decision that it will be best for me to take the captaincy away from John Terry," Capello said in a statement.
"As a captain with the team, John Terry has displayed extremely positive behaviour. However, I have to take into account other considerations and what is best for all of the England squad.
"What is best for all of the England team has inspired my choice. John Terry was notified first."
He had faced calls to resign the captaincy over newspaper allegations of an extra-marital affair with the ex-girlfriend of former team-mate Wayne Bridge.
But the Football Association said no decision would be made without Capello's consent, and not until the Italian had spoken to Terry and Bridge over the whole issue.
Capello seemed to indicate that vice-captain Rio Ferdinand would assume Terry's mantle as skipper.
"When I chose John Terry as captain, I also selected a vice-captain and also named a third choice. There is no reason to change this decision," he added.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the FA, particularly Lord David Triesman and Ian Watmore for allowing me to make this decision in my own time and in the best interest of the team."
Earlier this week Terry released his first public statement since the story broke last weekend, saying he would be "keeping his own counsel" until he had spoken to the England boss.
Bridge also refused to comment on the speculation, although the FA put the decision over Terry's captaincy in Capello's hands, saying: "[Capello] spoke with our chairman, Lord Triesman, and chief executive Ian Watmore, who both backed him to make the best decision for England on footballing grounds.
"Fabio is dealing with the matter in his own way using his extensive experience as a football manager."
Capello was keen to end speculation over the Terry-Bridge affair before he leaves for the Euro 2012 qualifying draw in Poland on Sunday.
He only returned to England yesterday after spending several weeks recovering from a knee operation at his holiday home in Switzerland.