Soccer:England captain John Terry will be named in the squad for this month's friendly internationals against world champions Spain and Sweden despite allegations he racially abused QPR's Anton Ferdinand.
Terry is currently the subject of police and FA investigations over an alleged racist remark made to Ferdinand during Chelsea’s recent Premier League defeat at QPR. There has been a big external debate over whether the 30-year-old, who has denied making a racist remark, should be selected.
Some, including QPR owner Tony Fernandes, believe Terry should be picked on the grounds he remains innocent until proven guilty. Others feel the allegation is so grave, it would be fairer to leave Terry out until such time as the matter was resolved.
However, a meeting was held between Capello and senior FA figures — chairman David Bernstein, chief executive Alex Horne, Club England managing director Adrian Bevington and director of football development Trevor Brooking — in central London on Friday.
None of those present were aware of the details of the allegation or any evidence that has been gathered. The meeting was followed by a personal trip by the England coach to Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, to confirm Terry was in.
“He will be in the final squad,” said Capello. “Everyone spoke about John Terry and we decided on this — the FA and us together. Yesterday I met him personally. I spoke to him.
“We need to wait for what will happen about the FA investigation and the police investigation, but I can tell you he is innocent until proven guilty. This is a really important thing — for me and the FA. For this reason I select him.”
Capello also took the trouble to have a word with Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas, who has maintained a consistent stance by picking Terry through the present problems, naming him again this afternoon for the Premier League trip to Blackburn.
That Terry’s long-time central defensive partner Rio Ferdinand — brother of Anton — will not be involved is bound to raise an eyebrow. Yet Capello maintains that move will be made purely on form grounds.
Indeed, whilst acutely sensitive to the on-going process, Capello emphasised that he has never come across any racism in English football.
“Look. I never see. I never heard. I never found racism problems in England football in my experience,” said Capello. “The fans never boo. Never. Racist problems between the players do not exist.”
Capello insists he is “not concerned” about the potential reaction to his decision. Neither does he regret restoring Terry to the captaincy in March, 13 months after stripping him of the honour following claims of an affair with an ex-girlfriend of England team-mate Wayne Bridge.
However, the move has not been made without a lot of thought, with three FA meetings having taken place over the past fortnight before arriving at this latest position.
All this and Terry might not even face the world champions, with Capello considering whether to assess the abilities of other members of his squad against the highest level of opposition.
“I don’t know if he will play,” admitted Capello. “It will only be for football reasons. I know the value of John Terry. It will be really important to know the value of other players when you play against the world champions.
“I need to see them because there will be injuries and suspensions so I will play (Joleon) Lescott or (Gary) Cahill or (Phil) Jagielka.”
And it is because he has such intimate knowledge of Ferdinand that he will be left out, Capello stating firmly that it had nothing to do with the potential for conflict.
“It’s not excuses. It’s real what happened,” said Capello. “What did Sir Alex, who knows everything about him, say? He can see him every day during training. He needs more games.”
