Former England manager Fabio Capello slams FA over John Terry treatment and claims he should still be playing for his country
Capello left shortly after Terry was stripped of the England captaincy and now manages Russia's national team
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Your support makes all the difference.John Terry should still be playing for England as he is among the best defenders in the country, according to former Three Lions boss Fabio Capello.
The Italian resigned from his position with England after Terry was stripped of the captaincy by the Football Association in February 2012 over allegations the centre-half had directed racist abuse towards QPR's Anton Ferdinand the previous year.
Terry was acquitted of the charge following a trial in July 2012 but was banned for four matches and fined £220,000 by the Football Association for 'using abusive language related to colour' a few months later, shortly after the Chelsea man had announced his international retirement.
He has remained a key figure at club level for the Blues and Capello, who is now in charge of the Russian national team, thinks the 34-year-old would still excel in England's backline.
Yet the former AC Milan, Real Madrid and Juventus boss admitted the chances of a shock recall for Terry are slim.
Speaking at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Shanghai, Capello told several national newspapers: "He is one of the best. [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."
Of the incident that led to his resignation, Capello added: "[The FA] decided he could not play with the national team and I didn't understand because he was not guilty.
"When it happened I said to [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?"'
PA
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