Chelsea defender John Terry stripped of England captaincy by the FA

By David Gold

February 3 – Chelsea defender John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy by the England Football Association (FA) chairman, David Bernstein, days after it was announced he would stand trial for allegedly racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in July.

Terry’s lawyers this week entered a not-guilty plea at the first hearing of the case at Westminster Magistrates Court over the allegations, relating to a match between Chelsea and QPR in October.

It was then confirmed that he would stand trial on July 9, a week after the end of the European Championships at which the Chelsea defender had seemed set to captain England.

The FA have not confirmed or denied the story as yet, but sources close to the defender have told national media that he was informed of the news at 10am on Friday morning.

It is almost two years to the day since Terry, who vehemently denies all the charges levelled at him, originally lost the England captaincy prior to the 2010 World Cup.

On that occasion, he was stripped of the armband because of media reports that he had an affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the ex-girlfriend of Terry’s former team-mate Wayne Bridge.

It is the second major decision the FA have had to make over racism allegations in just over a month, having already banned Liverpool forward Luis Suárez for eight matches over allegations that he racially abused Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

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