World Cup 2010 - John Terry sacked as England captain

Fri, 05 Feb 18:00:00 2010

John Terry has been sacked as England captain following a meeting with manager Fabio Capello at Wembley.

2009 England John Terry - 0

The Chelsea star met Capello in an emergency meeting on Friday afternoon, but left after just 12 minutes having been informed of the Italian's decision.

In a brief statement, Terry said: "I fully respect Fabio Capello's decision. I will continue to give everything for England."

Terry, who was first made full-time skipper in 2006 by former manager Steve McClaren, has been the subject of intense media speculation following allegations about his private life.

The FA published the following statement from Capello on their website:

"After much thought, I have made the decision that it will be best for me to take the captaincy away from John Terry.

"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.

"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.

"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."

Terry was seen by many as the perfect England captain with natural bulldog spirit combined with superb defensive qualities.

In the 15 matches in which he wore the armband under Capello, England won 11 and drew two, qualifying easily for this year's World Cup in South Africa where they will be among the favourites to win the trophy.

Manchester United Rio Ferdinand, the current vice-captain, is a strong favourite to take over in light of Capello's statement, while Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney are also in contention.

Capello may also decide not to appoint a permanent skipper, selecting a captain only on a match-by-match basis.

News broke last Friday of an alleged affair between Terry and Vanessa Perroncel, the long-term girlfriend of England and former Chelsea team-mate Wayne Bridge.

Terry, who is married, had attempted to suppress stories with a controversial super-injunction, which was lifted by High Court judge Mr Justice Tugendhat.

Miss Perroncel has announced that she will not sell her story to a newspaper, despite rumours of a £250,000 offer.

Alex Chick / Eurosport

Comment 1176 - 1195 of 1195

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  1. Mebbe private life's got nothin' ­ to do wid f'ball, but d'ya ­ think Wayne Bridge or his close ­ friends ( who r on England's ­ plane to S.Africa can play their ­ normal game under JT ? ) World ­ know he's a terrific centre back , ­ but then he stabbed on someone's ­ back too. It's sure gonna effect ­ England's dressing room atmosphere. ­ Rio's fitness is doubtful, Lampard is ­ naive on captaincy and Rooney's too ­ hot up there, to trust him wid the ­ armband. So, in terms of experience and ­ approach, I guess Stevie G is the best ­ choice to lead the Three Lions.

    From Tashi, on Fri 19 Feb 0:20
  2. Do not blame John Terry ,footbalers were always trained­ to fill holes left by their fullbacks (left and/or­ right). JT was only but doing his duties as is required

    From CLIVE, on Mon 8 Feb 19:48
  3. comment no. 1244, How do you calculate the occult­ number for example for terry -32 and chelsea 25 ?

    From CLIVE, on Mon 8 Feb 19:44
  4. WHAT ENGLAND AND CAPELLO IN PARTICULAR ­ SHOULD STRIVE FOR IS TO SEE THAT 2010 ­ WC TITLE COMES TO LONDON. IT IS LONG ­ SINCE ENGLAND LAST LAY HANDS ON THAT ­ CUP. A LOT OF TALKING ABOUT CAPTAINCY IS­ TAKING PLACE AS IF IT IS THE ONLY­ BARRIER TO WIN THE WC GLORY. EVEN IF ­ YOU CHANGED CAPTAINS A THOUSAND TIMES AND­ YOU DON'T OFFER ON THE PITCH,­ IT STILL REMAINS A SHAME. A LOT ARE ­ LUCKING FOCUS. A LOT OF SPECKINGS AND ­ LOGGINGS INTO INDIVIDUALS EYES FOR ­ NOTHING.

    From petersakwa, on Sun 7 Feb 21:40
  5. Stevie G should be next as England skipper

    From J, on Sun 7 Feb 20:38
  6. I personlly think JT had to be relieved as captain. He­ brought the England team into disripute by going with a­ women who he must of known would damage his­ relationship with Wayne Bridge, never mind his wife. I­ know that might sound soft but if this had come out in­ South Africa, we would have been the laughing stock.­ The England captaincy isn't just a job it's an­ honour and JT has no honour for what he has done. If he­ had gone with a women who has nothing to do with the­ England camp then he should still be captain but he­ didn't, he did the opposite.
    I'm a Man Utd fan­ and I think Steven Gerrard with out question should be­ captain.

    From The Manc, on Sun 7 Feb 11:29
  7. Show me fridays 5 th, comments at approx 6 ,45 pm­ please, my comment I did not see and cant find . ­ John

    From John, on Sun 7 Feb 10:17
  8. JOHN TERRY was born on December 7,1980.Numbers 2 and 7­ are highly significant for him.He is now­ 29(2+9=11,1+1=2) years old.Also,his occult number is 32­ that adds up to 5.Significantly,he lost his captaincy­ on 5th.
    Incidentally,the name"CHELSEA-has 7­ characters.The occult number of "chelsea" is­ 25 that gives 7(2+5=7).
    Above all,Terry is reported to­ be of 1-87 m height(1+8+7=16,1+6=7).
    It can be­ predicted that terry has a a good time now.He is not­ unfortunate in 2010.

    From DAMODARAN, on Sun 7 Feb 10:08
  9. WELL, WELL,WELL,,,, IF FABIO CAPPELLO WANT TO SACK­ TERRY AS ENGLAND CAP ITS OK BUT PLS LEAVE HIS PERSONAL­ LIFE OUT OF THIS BECAUSE IF WE WERE TO GIVE ACCOUNT OF­ OUR PERSONAL LIFE NO ONE DESERVES TO BE WHAT HE OR SHE­ IS TODAY NOT EVEN CAPPELLO, LOL. MY PEOPLE USE TO SAY­ THAT HE WHOSE TEETH ARE OPENLY SEEN IS THE ONE THAT­ LOUGHS THE MOST.

    From Okjazz, on Sun 7 Feb 9:21
  10. READING THROUGH MOST OF THE COMMENTS HERE ESPECIALLY BY­ OUR GUYS (MEN AND BOYS ALIKE) IS QUITE REVEALING OF THE­ NATURE AND LEVEL OF DECADENCE IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY.­ ANIMALS USED TO BE THE ONLY SPECIE WHO KNEW NO­ BOUNDARIES AS TO SEX, DOING IT ANYHOW, ANYWHERE, WITH­ ANYONE, EVEN THERE OWN MOTHER (eg. goats). FOR SUCH AN­ ABNORMAL AND ANIMALISTIC BEHAVIOUR TO BE EXHIBITED TALK­ MORE APPLUADED BY ANYONE IS APPALLING. KUDOS TO THE FEW­ MEN AND WOMEN OUT THERE WHO STILL BELIEVE IN LOYALTY­ AND COMMITTIMENT TO A RELATIOSHIP. I HOPE THAT BY THE­ NEXT GENERATION WILL NOT BE WALKING ON 'FOURS'­ GOING BY THE RATE OF DEGENERATION!

    From Nneoma Pearl, on Sun 7 Feb 8:06
  11. Looks like the press are already trying to destroy­ Englands chances at the world cup. I fully expect they­ will break another story about the personal lives of­ someone from the squad on the eve of the opening match!­ Pity they never use as much tabloid space in a positive­ manner!

    From JULIE, on Sun 7 Feb 7:44
  12. John was very passonate when he is on the field.that­ was his personal affair and it has nothing to do with­ his captainship.

    From Ogene, on Sun 7 Feb 7:19
  13. John was very passonate when he is on the field.that­ was his personal affair and it has nothing to do with­ his captainship.

    From Ogene, on Sun 7 Feb 7:18
  14. John was very passonate when he is on the field.that­ was his personal affair and it has nothing to do with­ his captainship.

    From Ogene, on Sun 7 Feb 7:18
  15. TERRY'S PRIVATE LIFE HAS F**K ALL 2 DO WITH ANY1­ ELSE SO ITS TOTALLY WRONG 2 STRIP HIM FROM CAPTAINS­ PLACE MOST FOOTBALLERS ARE CHEATERS OR BULLIES AND WHAT­ ABOUT POLITITIONS CHEATING AND WE DO F**K ALL ABOUT IT­ SO WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE I SAY TERRY SHOULD BE­ CAPTAIN AND PEOPLE SHOULD JUST LEAVE HIM AND HIS MISSUS­ ALONE 2 DEAL WITH IT

    From Joanne, on Sun 7 Feb 6:59
  16. Rio is hardly role model material and I totally agree­ with scontigh 1253. Footballers do not act as role­ models. All have done something the press will haul out­ of the closet, Rio's drug ban, Rooneys grandmas,­ Gerrards nightclub punch ups, Becks and Rebecca Loos. I­ just don't see what it has to do with football. I­ never warmed to Terry as an individual, but I­ didn't have to. You have to have a nasty edge to­ succeed in many forms of business and to be ruthless in­ many sports. I just don't get what this has to do­ with him captaining England. So we all think he is a­ b@rst@rd as a person, he is still probably the best­ central defender and captain we have. The rest of the­ world must be laughing at us.

    From Mark A, on Sun 7 Feb 6:47
  17. The decision taken by Capello is one of the wierd and­ senseless decisions in the history of football for the­ year 2010.
    First it was an uncivilised decision taken­ by CAF to banning and fining a grieving Togo for­ withdrawing from the just ended African Nations Cup­ held in Angola after the Togolese were ambushed and­ gun-fired by Angolan rebels killing two (2) of their­ contingents.CAF came out to publicly to mourne with­ them and then later showed them the red card.­ Meanwhile, CAF forgot to realise that they made the­ very first mistake for allowing a war-torn country with­ rebels still active for hosting a continental­ competition.

    The second most wierd decision heard this­ season is Terry's case. How on earth should a­ private matter be dealt with in official terms?
    Those­ of us who work drink and do all immoral acts outside­ our job or official duties and no one quarms about. Go­ to the pubs on Fridays and Saturdays and count the­ number of well respected officials 'soiling'­ themselves but no reporter makes a hoolabaloo on­ this.
    Terry is one of the few captains with dignity and­ respect both on and off the pitch England has ever­ had.He commands respect everywhere and most referees­ respect him on and off the field.

    Anytime something­ good is coming the way of English football the press­ make a whole unnecessary loud noises over unnecessary­ news and strip England off the goody.
    Capello took the­ decision based on the pressure from the press.
    They­ talk a lot but does very little to improve the skills­ of the players which is the most needed thing in­ English football now.
    We wait to see what the new capo­ would bring to the fore to lift the image of English­ football higher.May be the press prefer a capo with on­ pitch violence and drug records to a respected­ womanizer.

    Cheers

    From scontigh, on Sun 7 Feb 5:51
  18. lets take the England captaincy from someone who's­ being messing about with a team mates ex & give it­ to someone who's up in front of the FA for violent­ conduct!!!! This really sends out the right message­ about English football

    From swearer2008, on Sun 7 Feb 5:46
  19. John Terry has got to be the best defender in the world­ capello only sacked him to ruin englands chances of­ world cup glory

    From PAUL, on Sun 7 Feb 5:05
  20. YE BUT THE INCEDENT WAS NOTHING TO DO WHITH FOOTBALL!!

    From PAUL, on Sun 7 Feb 4:49
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