John Terry Stripped Of The England Captaincy

In the wake of accusations of racism, Chelsea defender John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy. The Chelsea defender was apparently informed of the decision by the FA's chairman David Bernstein over the phone at 10am this morning, after he consulted with the other board members over the right course of action. The FA's decision appears, at this stage to be extremely self-serving, given that Terry has not yet been removed from the England set-up permanently. The board are treading the middle ground, allowing Terry to remain available in the interest of the national team at the same time as appearing to punish the player for bringing the Association into disrepute (again). But that's not to say Terry will definitely still play this summer - despite the assertions of manager Fabio Capello that he would not rule Terry out as long as he remained unconvicted. Some pundits, like former Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins have jumped to Terry's defence, suggesting that England will win nothing without the former captain, if they choose to also leave him out of the Euro 2012 squad this summer. But quality or value to the team should not override moral or judicial concerns, and Terry's alleged actions have reflected badly on the England set-up already, and the FA would have faced an even bigger problem if it turned out after Euro 2012 that Terry was in fact guilty. Besides which, the loss of Terry is not the disaster some might have us believe: he has been far from the player he was two years ago this season, and his career is now certainly moving into its twilight stages (a fact acknowledged openly by Chelsea with the acquisition of the very similarly styled Gary Cahill in the transfer window just gone). Dissenters will also no doubt point to the fact that the legal system relies upon an assumption of innocence until the point of proof or sentencing, and that Terry's case has not yet been called to trial. But, MP Chris Huhne has today set an uneasy comparison for Terry by resigning from his government role due to his own involvement in a criminal case related to driving charges. Huhne hasn't been found guilty yet either, but the court case will inevitably inspire questions about his integrity, and the same issue should arise with Terry: he is a figurehead, and he should have resigned himself long before today's decision was announced. Astonishingly, this isn't the first time that Terry has been stripped of the highest accolade after initially being removed as England captain in the wake of Bridgegate - significantly a far less controversial case than the current racist charge. Gone, it seems are the days of the unblemished England captain, like Bryan Robson and Bobby Moore with the age of celebrity fundamentally changing the way "celebrity transgressions" are views, and how much we are willing to accept from our "heroes" before they are tainted. The final thought of this article must be dedicated to the same issue that Fabio Capello now faces: who will be the next England Captain? Perhaps someone more fitting of the title this time round, eh Fabio? And please, NOT Wayne Rooney.