Capello fumes at FA’s decision to axe Terry

Major question marks hang over Fabio Capello’s status as England coach after he spoke out in defence of axed skipper John Terry.

Capello was known to be upset that Terry was removed as captain on Friday, a decision taken by FA chairman David Bernstein without any consultation with the £6m-a-year manager of the national side.

The decision came three months after Capello had been given full authority to deal with the Terry issue as he saw fit, selecting him as captain for the friendly win over Sweden, on the basis Terry was innocent of racism charges until such time as he is found guilty.

It is easy to see how Capello may conclude he has been badly undermined by developments, which took their decisive turn once it was known Terry would not face a court hearing into allegations he used racist language to Anton Ferdinand at Loftus Road in October until July, after Euro 2012.

Interviewed by Italian broadcaster Rai 1 at Stamford Bridge yesterday, Capello stated openly how angry he was.

Asked whether he was in agreement with “the Federation’s decision re Terry?”, Capello replied: “No, absolutely not. I have spoken to the chairman and I have said that, in my opinion, one cannot be punished until it’s official and the court — a non-sporting court, a civil court — has made a decision to decide if John Terry has done what he has been accused of.

“I thought it was right Terry should keep the captain’s armband. The fact that the board has decided in this way is because it falls under the competence regarding ethics.” Capello is due at Wembley tomorrow, where he will speak with Bernstein.

Meanwhile Joey Barton could be in trouble with Britain’s Attorney General after posting a series of Twitter comments about Terry ahead of his trial in July.

Barton had defended his comments on the grounds of free speech. However, a spokesman for Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC said: “I can confirm the Tweets have been brought to our attention and have been viewed.”