Are you with John Terry or against him?

On 2 February, John Terry’s barrister pleaded ’not guilty’ to charges of racism that were raised against him during the now infamous QPR–Chelsea game at Loftus Road which the home side lost 0-1, but was brought into the spotlight for the racist abuse that 31-year-old Terry allegedly hurled at Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand, calling him a ‘black c**t’. Not guilty was what his barrister filed his plea for, and the rule of law states that a man is innocent until proven guilty, and there is no doubt that the trial will add further pressure onto the shoulders of Terry who as Chelsea captain takes on the majority of his side’s pressure. And some might argue that the English Football Association has done the right thing by stripping him of the national team’s captaincy. The FA’s duty is to promote purely what is right and wrong in football terms. A statement from the FA said: “The Football Association confirm he will not captain the England team until the allegations against him are resolved. The FA Board expected the trial to be concluded prior to the European Championship. Further to Wednesday’s confirmation that the trial will not take place until after the tournament, the Board has discussed the matter in detail and has collectively decided it is in the interests of all parties that John has the responsibilities of captaincy removed at this time.” [caption id=“attachment_206215” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Getty Images”] [/caption] Terry himself says that he is furious on being stripped of the armband, and he has contemplated calling it quits on the international stage, with sources close to him saying that he ‘feels angry and disillusioned. It seems he’s made up his mind that he doesn’t want to play anymore. He’s been advised not to make statements yet.’ While Anton Ferdinand himself has remained quiet throughout the saga, his brother Rio, who was heckled and jeered throughout Manchester United’s 3-3 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday night, has made his feelings on the matter quite clear. ‘I feel insulted, woke up with a bad taste in my mouth. It’s a goddamn joke,’ he tweeted. Speaking on BBC’s Football Focus, the elder Ferdinand said, “Anton is my little brother… At the end of the day, my brother has not brought any accusations to anyone. He is not the accused. But he has had to sit there and take abuse from some small-minded people, which has been very disappointing.” Other footballers have been quite clear on their stance in the Terry saga. Former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright, who is the Gunners’ highest scorer after Thierry Henry, tweeted ‘The way the FA have dealt with it is embarrassing. Get it sorted, then go to the Euros without baggage.’ While Joey Barton, who’s always had something to tweet about on the blogosphere said, “This John Terry saga has turned into one of the most hideously managed spectacles I have ever known. Heads should roll.” But the tweet that summed up this entire issue succinctly was “The one I feel for is Anton.” Barton’s tweets come a week after he chaired a meeting of his QPR teammates where they had debated on shaking John Terry’s hand during an upcoming FA Cup game at Loftus Road. In the end, the FA decided to dispense with the traditional pre-match handshake in light of all that had occurred. The FA has made the right decision in stripping Terry of the armband. The 2008 European Championship final was watched by more than 330 million people scattered over 231 nations across the globe, with each game having an average viewership of around 155 million people. 2012’s Poland-Ukraine show piece is expected to be even more popular. By stripping Terry of the captaincy — a decision that England coach Fabio Capello has no control over — the FA have done the right thing when it comes to football. The British paparazzi are some of the most hard-nosed tabloid journalists one finds in the media, and even if they – for the sake of national pride – had left John Terry alone when he gives the captain’s and coach’s press conferences, the foreign journalists would have laid into him at every opportunity possible. Every time Micah Richards, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Daniel Welbeck, Ashley Young and other non-Caucasian players step out of their team hotel, a microphone will be thrust in their faces for their two cents on the matter, and there already seems to be a clique forming in the England dressing room since Terry made those alleged comments. The pressure, in the end, would just be too much for the Three Lions to take on the world’s stage. And it’s not just in the England camp, but those of other teams too. England play France in the group stages and the French have a significant number of immigrant players in their ranks. What will Florent Malouda – another club mate of Terry – or senior players such as Eric Abidal, Alou Diarra and Patrice Evra say if such a question is posed to them in their pre-match interviews? A plethora of other players will be wondering how to handle this question, which in the end boils down to one simple statement: are you with John Terry or against him? Through this ordeal, two people who have provided their shoulders for Terry to lean on are England coach Capello. “I completely disagree with the FA about the John Terry decision and I have told that to the chairman," said the England coach. “I considered and still consider Terry as the England captain. I think we first should wait for the trial conclusion." Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas also lent support to Terry. “I don’t agree with it. John will continue to be our captain,” he insisted. But Sports minister Hugh Robertson said: “It would have been impossible for Terry to have continued as captain with this charge over his head. I support the FA decision.” What Fabio Capello has on his hands now is a situation Blackburn Rovers striker Jason Roberts described as toxic. The media has never been an ally of England when they have gone into major tournaments and the last thing Capello needs now is a volatile situation that can explode at any time. Terry, if he is right, should feel ‘disgusted’ by the allegations but the FA’s responsibilities are to look after English football for the greater good, irrespective of whether one man is hurt or not. Especially one man who didn’t deserve the armband a second time around, having only himself to blame for losing it in the first place.