John Terry Rightfully Stripped of Captaincy by English FA

Even though John Terry still hasn't stood trial for his alleged racist remarks toward QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, the English FA made the correct decision to remove the captain's armband from the Chelsea star. The entire situation would have been way too big of distraction during Euro 2012.

Here's a portion of an FA statement about the decision (via ESPNsoccernet):

This decision has been taken due to the higher profile nature of the England captaincy, on and off the pitch, and the additional demands and requirements expected of the captain leading into and during a tournament.

The FA Board can confirm that he has not been excluded from the squad and that Fabio Capello is free to select him for the Holland fixture on 29 February and the European Championship.

Terry deserves a chance to defend the accusations made against him, but national team officials needed to ensure the team is given every chance to succeed at one of the world's most prominent tournaments. A captain about to face massive turmoil would have been a detriment to the team's chances.

After disappointment in recent major tournaments, including a Round of 16 loss at the last World Cup, England will be looking to reassert itself as a football powerhouse this summer. Another failure on a big stage will lead to a lot of questions about the team's overall direction.

While it's not fair to pin the lack of results on Terry, it's difficult—if not impossible—to focus on all of a captain's duties at a time like this. The Three Lions have several other leaders, including Rio Ferdinand, who can fill the void.

Ferdinand previously replaced Terry, who was going through some issues in his personal life, for about a year and did a solid job.

All told, the FA played this situation perfectly. They said Terry will be allowed for selection if manager Fabio Capello chooses him, but they eliminated any possible outside problems that would have arisen from him being viewed as the team's main representative.

It's important to put out fires like this before they turn into something larger. With more than four months until Euro 2012 play starts, the issue of dropping Terry will be an afterthought by the time it starts. That's exactly what chairman David Bernstein and Co. were hoping for when they made the call.

If England gets eliminated early, everybody involved wants to make sure it's because of play on the field and not lingering issues off of it.

Today's correct FA decision makes sure that will be the case.

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