THE ENGLISH Football Association chairman, David Bernstein, will meet Fabio Capello this week at Wembley to try to draw a line under a public row over the decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy.

Bernstein, who informed Capello of the FA board’s decision to remove the armband from Terry on Thursday night in the knowledge that the Italian profoundly disagreed with the move, will address at the meeting the manager’s provocative decision to make his feelings known in public.

However, despite suggestions from the former FA executive director David Davies that Capello could be in “breach of contract” and bookmakers shortening the odds on his departure before the European Championship in June, Bernstein is expected to try to calm the situation.

It is understood that the FA has not examined the detailed terms of Capello’s contract or taken legal advice on whether he has broken them and is keen to move on, while being clear there is no suggestion of revisiting the decision over Terry.

Capello told the Italian broadcaster Rai 1 on Sunday that the FA had “absolutely not” made the right call over the issue and that he “completely disagreed” with Bernstein. At the meeting he is likely to restate his displeasure about the way the decision was reached and the outcome but has accepted that the FA board was within its rights to act.

“I spoke to the chairman and I told him that I don’t think someone can be punished until it becomes official,” said Capello on Sunday.

Capello was due to be at Anfield last night for Liverpool’s match with Tottenham, where one of the contenders to replace Terry as captain, Steven Gerrard, led out the home team. It remains to be seen what effect Capello’s robust belief that Terry should still be captain has on the willingness of others to take the job.

Terry, who has yet to respond publicly to the decision announced on Friday and who missed Chelsea’s 3-3 draw with Manchester United through injury, was deposed as a result of his trial for allegedly racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand being set for July 9th, eight days after the Euro 2012 final. He denies the charges.

The British government yesterday backed the FA’s stance. The culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said: “It’s a matter for the FA but they’ve got our full support.”

Guardian Service