Capello resigns over FA decision to strip Terry of England captaincy

Irish Sun (ANI) Thursday 9th February, 2012

England coach-cum-manager Fabio Capello sensationally resigned on Wednesday night following the Football Association's decision to strip John Terry of the team captaincy.

Capello's resignation was confirmed just hours after his likely successor Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp was cleared of tax evasion charges.

Capello was angry over the undermining of his position, and a restriction on his ability to shape the team as he saw fit. Football Association chairman David Bernstein had deliberately excluded Capello from deliberations over Terry's role, placing the FA's wider role as regulator above the short-term interests of the coach.

On Wednesday night, the Football Association was left without a manager and a captain four months before the start of Euro 2012, The Telegraph reports.

The FA is expected to ask under-21 coach Stuart Pearce to assume caretaker charge for the friendly against Holland on February 29, before beginning a more considered search for a replacement.

Capello's position had been in doubt since Sunday evening, when he protested Bernstein's decision to remove Terry from his post during an interview to Italian state television.

The interview posed a direct challenge to the FA chairman's authority, which had been bolstered by his move against Terry following the adjournment of the Chelsea captain's trial on charges of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand until after Euro 2012.

Meanwhile, the main obstruction to Redknapp's appointment has been cleared by not guilty verdicts delivered at 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday. (ANI)