Events | 2010.02.06
'I will give everything for England'
• Decision is best for the team, says Capello
• Vanessa Perroncel says she will not sell her story
A day that began with yet more newspaper allegations of impropriety ended today with England captain John Terry stripped of the captaincy by Fabio Capello because it was "best for the team".
In the shadow of the Wembley Stadium arch, Capello ended a saga which has made news for a week by informing Terry he had run out of road following his alleged affair with an international teammate\'s former girlfriend and a series of other stories.
"After much thought, I have made the decision that it will be best for me to take the captaincy away from John Terry," said Capello. He replaced him with vice-captain Rio Ferdinand. "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."
The meeting with Terry was believed to last only 12 minutes.
After spending the morning at Chelsea\'s Cobham training ground, where he has long enjoyed elevated status as the club captain and longest serving player, Terry was trailed from Surrey to Brent in north London by a Sky News helicopter; he swept into Wembley just after 2pm looking tired and grim faced as his Audi was surrounded by a posse of photographers.
Sacked, Terry immediately vowed to go on playing for England if selected: "I fully respect Fabio Capello\'s decision. I\'ll continue to give everything for England."
Capello\'s patience snapped following stories over months denting Terry\'s reputation. In December, Capello was forced to remind him privately of his responsibilities after the News of the World videotaped him apparently accepting £10,000 for a private tour of Chelsea\'s training ground. He said the money went to charity.
As news of the dismissal made its way from Capello\'s office down Olympic Way, Vanessa Perroncel, the former partner of England teammate Wayne Bridge, with whom Terry allegedly had had an affair, was standing next to publicist Max Clifford as he read a prepared statement confirming she would not sell her story, despite offers of more than £250,000. When Perroncel was told Terry had been stripped of the captaincy, she was visibly shocked.
Gordon Brown was drawn into the debate. "This decision must be for the manager, and Mr Capello has made that decision. I think people will abide by that decision," the prime minister told ministers at a cabinet awayday in Exeter.
Having insisted all week that any decision would be on footballing rather than moral grounds, Capello is said to have listened carefully to evidence gathered by his lieutenant Franco Baldini from both players, their club managers, and members of the squad.
Terry\'s terrible week began last Friday when an ill-advised superinjunction, imposed to prevent allegations of his affair with Perroncel becoming public, was lifted by a high court judge. That unleashed a torrent of publicity. A story with all the ingredients of a modern day morality tale (including, inevitably, a walk-on part for Clifford as adviser to Perroncel, who has a son aged three by Bridge) was given momentum by a desire by the press to punish Terry over the injunction.
Also last week, an injunction preventing the media revealing the identity of Portsmouth manager Avram Grant in connection with a visit to a massage parlour was also overturned, and his story was told with gusto.
The Terry story dominated front and back pages of newspapers all week, with each day bringing fresh details of illicit liaisons or suspect behaviour. His wife Toni Terry was forced to contact the Press Complaints Commission to ward off photographers and journalists who followed her and her three-year-old twins to Dubai. On Thursday, the Daily Mail alleged an associate of Terry\'s was prepared to rent out his Wembley executive box for cash, an arrangement strictly banned under the terms of the contract. Terry denied any knowledge of the offer.
Ultimately, Capello could not be convinced that a drip, drip of bad publicity would not surround his captain in the months leading up to one of the biggest summers of both their careers.
The case sparked debates up and down the land about the morality of Terry\'s behaviour, the role of England\'s captain, and the extent to which we expect our sporting heroes to act as role models. PR heavyweights such as Clifford and Phil Hall, the former News of the World editor called upon by Terry to manage the crisis, fought for their respective client\'s reputation.
Clifford said Perroncel was "very sad" to hear Terry had been axed. In her statement, she hit out at "inaccurate" reporting. "The details of my friendship with John and his family have been the subject of intense and wholly unfair and untrue media speculation," she said. "I now find myself subject to other unsubstantiated and false claims … over the past few days. This has only added to the pressure which my family and I have been under. I have decided I don\'t want to speak publicly about the speculation, since it only seems to add fuel to the fire. I\'ve a three-year-old son and he\'s my main concern."
Terry is due to face Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. While the link with the adoring home fans who display a banner, "JT: Captain, Leader, Legend", at home games is expected to last, he faces a battle to rehabilitate his image with the public. His £4m endorsement deal with Umbro could be affected, while England sponsor Nationwide and Chelsea sponsor Samsung will also be considering what to do.
Defender\'s own goals
September 2001
Terry and several Chelsea teammates go on a pub crawl when their flight is grounded after the 9/11 attacks. The group ends up in Heathrow hotel where they are involved in a food fight in front of stranded passengers, many American, watching the aftermath of the twin towers\' collapse
February 2002
Terry urinates into a glass in an Essex nightclub and drops it on the floor. Bouncers remove him from premises
June 2007
Shortly before his wedding to childhood sweetheart Toni Poole Terry admits to cheating on her. He had been subject of several tabloid exposes during their then eight-year relationship and before the ceremony at Bleinheim Palace he says: "I really regret what I\'ve done to Toni. I\'m not going to cheat on her again"
December 2009
News of the World claims that Terry agreed to arrange behind-the-scenes tour of Chelsea\'s training ground for an undercover reporter in return for £10,000 in cash. In a statement Chelsea rejected the allegation
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/[...]fabio-capello-england-football
