Terry might quit national side

Australian Herald (IANS) Saturday 4th February, 2012

Chelsea captain John Terry, who was stripped of his England captaincy by the English Football Association (FA), is contemplating to quit the national side in protest.

Terry has been charged with racially abusing Queens Park Ranger's defender Anton Ferdinand and the court hearing will take place in July after the Euro 2012 end.

The Chelsea captain, who can continue to be selected for England, is considering his international future in the wake of the decision, the Guardian reported.

England manager Fabio Capello was left bewildered by the FA's decision after the Italian publicly backed Terry for the captaincy for the European championships.

Capello also visited Terry at Chelsea's Cobham training ground since he was charged with a racially aggravated public order offence to deliver the same message.

At 10 a.m. Friday Bernstein rang Terry to tell him that the board had decided to strip him of the captaincy, leaving Capello embarrassed and angry. The Italian has already confirmed that he would be leaving his post after the Euro.

The decision leaves the manager with a dilemma about who to choose as England's captain for the tournament. Rio Ferdinand, elder brother of Anton, tweeted that he did not want to be considered and, while Steven Gerrard is the obvious candidate, the Liverpool player's injury issues mean Capello will make backup plans.