John Terry – liar or lion

John Terry’s international future has been put into serious doubt after his apparent racial slur towards Anton Ferdinand during Chelsea’s match against QPR.

What actually happened that day is still very much up in the air despite the confrontation taking place nearly three weeks ago.

Terry has been called up to Fabio Capello’s squad to play Sweden and Spain but it was expected that the Chelsea and England captain would sit out the match in London so Capello could look at other options.

This really translates to, ‘Terry needs to be taken out of the limelight after the recent press coverage’.

The FA are still looking into the incident, allowing Terry to play for England in the meantime.

Adrian Bevington, managing director of Club England backed Capello’s decision to include Terry in England’s latest squad.

Bevington said: “What Fabio chooses to do now with picking John or not, in terms of playing or being captain, that’s entirely up to him.

“We genuinely do not have any input in that. In the same way with the squad selection, that was Fabio’s decision and we supported him on that.”

Terry is an outstanding defender who should definitely be on the plane to Poland and Ukraine next summer. But Capello and the FA shouldn’t have called up the 30-year-old until the investigation is complete. It is not like England haven’t got any other viable option at the back with Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott, Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill all reliable replacements when called upon.

The England captain should be someone who represents the country that they are playing for, so if Terry did say that surely he is going against his county’s traditions and ethics. In terms of playing ability he should be in the squad, but at this point of time it would have been wise to allow Terry to sit out the friendly matches.

Terry has remained adamant that he did not call Anton Ferdinand the names that have been reported in the press. But surely QPR would not have reported the incident to the FA and to the police if it was just purely an exchange of words between the two defenders.

Looking ahead to the future European Championship which the upcoming friendlies are supposed to be in preparation for, if Terry is guilty of using a racist term then surely Terry will not be able to forge a successful partnership with Rio Ferdinand.

Yes they are both professional players, but a line would have been crossed which would make their relationship pretty much untenable both on and off the pitch.

If Terry was found guilty it would be another bad mark against his name and could have a detrimental effect on England’s chances of success next year.

Terry has previously been in the spotlight for his troubles off the pitch under. The most notable occasion was when he was stripped of the England captaincy in February last year because of his affair with Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend.

If Terry was to lose the captaincy for a second time that would surely be the end of his career in the Three Lions shirt.

Hopefully the FA investigation proves that the whole drama was just a misunderstanding and Terry and Rio Ferdinand can again link up to support England’s attempt to bring home silverware. That would be perfect but then again nothing is that simple when it comes to the England national team.

Anthony Hay