Terry stripped of England captaincy

John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy for the second time in his career by the Football Association.

Terry met with FA Chairman David Bernstein on Friday and was informed he will have to relinquish the captaincy.

The Chelsea man is due to stand trial in July over the alleged racial abuse of QPR defender Anton Ferdinand in October 2011, and Terry has entered a plea of not guilty.

Terry’s trial date has been set for July 9th and will not interfere with Euro 2012, but many pundits have claimed that having the proceedings hanging over the squad could be worse.

It has been proposed that Terry will also make a decision over his availability for the national side following this latest scandal and removal from the role.

Terry previously lost the armband after an alleged affair with the ex-girlfriend of former Chelsea and England team-mate Wayne Bridge.

The FA have refused to comment on the matter.

If Terry recovers from a knee injury before Sunday he may face Anton’s brother Rio Ferdinand, the man he replaced as England skipper, in Chelsea’s clash with Manchetser United at Stamford Bridge.