Fabio Capello: John Terry was NOT guilty of racism and should be in England squad

The former England manager resigned from his job in the wake of the Terry racism scandal in 2012 and now says he fought with everything he had to keep the defender in the team, but that the FA’s decision had already been made without consulting him.

“They [the FA] decided he could not play with the national team and I didn’t understand because he was not guilty,” said Capello.

“When it happened I said to the president [then FA chairman David Bernstein], ‘You decided he’s guilty? No, he’s not guilty’. 

“I fought for this and they said, ‘No, you can’t decide about the player, you need to wait for the court decision and everything’. I said, ‘Why have you decided before I’ve asked you?’”

At the time of his axing by England, Terry had been charged for racially abusing QPR’s Anton Ferdinand, which he denies to this day. But the FA decided to strip Terry of the captaincy before the court had reached a verdict, something that still infuriates Capello.

Terry was eventually found not guilty in court but was found guilty by the FA after they held their own four-day hearing. He was fined £220,000, banned for four matches, stripped of the England captaincy and banished from the squad.

Asked if Terry should play for England again, Capello, speaking ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards in Shanghai last night, said: “He is one of the best. They [England] haven’t got a lot of defenders but they sometimes have problems. It’s better to have a player like John Terry than not have him. But I don’t think he has the chances to play with the national team any more.”

Capello then went on to heap praise on himself about the various players now “thriving” under current England manager Roy Hodgson.

Capello said: “I saw some young players that played with me are improving. Chris Smalling is playing, Phil Jones. I’m happy because a lot of players I put in the national team are playing now and well. Ashley Young is also playing really well.”