Race probe won’t prevent Terry leading out England
EMBATTLED Chelsea skipper John Terry will retain the captaincy of his country for next month’s friendlies even if the investigation into his alleged racist slur against Anton Ferdinand has not been resolved.
England host world and European champions Spain on 12 November at Wembley three days before Sweden arrive in the capital.
The Football Association, however, have no plans to suspend Terry as skipper pending the outcome of their inquiry, with the governing body adopting an innocent-until-proven-guilty policy.
The FA on Tuesday night launched an inquiry into allegations Terry racially abused Ferdinand during his club’s stormy west London derby defeat at Loftus Road on Sunday.
Terry responded by vowing to clear his name after stringently denying the claims, which are also being assessed by the Metropolitan Police following an anonymous complaint.
Terry, who has been cautioned four times this season, was rested from last night’s Carling Cup tie at Everton to avoid the possibility of him being suspended for Saturday’s visit of Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Lord Ouseley, chairman of the Kick It Out anti-racism campaign group and a Football Association Council member, has encouraged Ferdinand to break his silence on the matter.
Ferdinand, whose older brother Rio was usurped as England captain by Terry in March, is thought to have notified his club he was unaware of any race row until after Sunday’s match had finished, prompting Rangers to involve the FA.
But by thus far refusing, at the very least, to make a statement, Ouseley believes Ferdinand is undermining the work undertaken by his organisation.
“I have heard nothing from Anton Ferdinand,” said Ouseley. “I hope players when they make complaints [and then keep quiet] can see they are actually letting down all the people who made sacrifices in the past to get us to the position we have got to now.
“We want to give people the confidence to come forward, knowing that they won’t be victimised or penalised, and knowing they are doing the game the utmost good, because it is helping to deal with all sorts of unacceptable behaviour. We have to root out racism.”