Europeans baffled by fuss over Terry’s private life

February 8, 2010

Michel Platini’s Gallic shrug said it all. “I’m not bothered. What do you want me to say?” he said.

The UEFA President and former France captain had just been asked for the third time in a few minutes on England coach Fabio Capello’s decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy because of something which happened off the field.

Platini was speaking in Warsaw at a news conference and was supposed to be talking about the qualifying draw for Euro 2012, an event which involved all 53 of UEFA’s associations.

Instead, he found himself fielding questions on the internal problems of one single member.

“We have 52 other associations in UEFA. Everybody has their own way of doing things…Poland, Ukraine, Austria, Norway, Malta, Cyprus. The problem of the English is not the problem of Italy, of France.

“You have some funny problems in England, but fortunately you have an Italian to sort them out.”

Platini’s indifference is a fair reflection of what Europeans feel on the whole Terry saga.

Players’ private lives are generally not subjected to media scrutiny elsewhere in Europe and it is the amount of publicity dedicated to the matter, rather than the alleged incident itself, which has made headlines on the continent.

In many countries, the captaincy is not even a big deal, just a symbolic role which involves a few pre-match niceties and bonus of lifting the trophy should the team happen to win a competition — not a very likely contingency in England’s case judging by their failure to add to their 1966 World Cup win.

PHOTO: UEFA President Michel Platini answers questions during a news conference at the Palace of Culture in Warsaw February 6, 2010. REUTERS/Peter Andrews

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John Terry stripped of England captaincy – your views

February 6, 2010

John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy following revelations about his private life.

Here is England coach Fabio Capello’s statement:

“After much thought, I have made the decision that it will be best for me to take the captaincy away from John Terry.

“As a captain with the team, John Terry has displayed extremely positive behaviour. However, I have to take into account other considerations and what is best for all of the England squad. What is best for all of the England team has inspired my choice.

“John Terry was notified first. When I chose John Terry as captain, I also selected a vice-captain and also named a third choice. There is no reason to change this decision.”

That implies Rio Ferdinand now becomes captain.

Is the decision fair? Does it affect England’s chances in the World Cup?

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