• England internationals

Wright lambasts FA over Terry saga

Ian Wright has waded into the John Terry saga by stating the Chelsea captain "should be nowhere near the England squad".

Terry has been named in the squad to face Spain and Sweden by manager Fabio Capello, a decision endorsed by the Football Association despite the player being the subject of investigations by the FA and Metropolitan Police after he was alleged to have racially abused Anton Ferdinand during Chelsea's defeat at QPR.

Capello has insisted Terry is innocent until proven guilty and as such will be selected on merit. This is a fact former England international Wright is aware of, but feels the player should have been left out of the upcoming friendlies with Spain and Sweden.

"John Terry should be nowhere near the England squad," Wright wrote in his column in The Sun. "I understand the fact you're innocent until proven guilty but that doesn't mean the captain of our country's football team should be involved in two friendlies while being investigated over allegations of making racist remarks.

"The FA have made a total mess of this. They don't have a clue about how to deal with this situation and have fudged the issue by allowing Fabio Capello to pick Terry while insisting he won't play against Spain - but will feature for 45 minutes against Sweden.

"This is a joke. It's embarrassing that he is involved but blatantly being shielded from any media attention by not starting either game. So why not leave him out in the first place? It seems to me that no one at the FA has the balls to stand up to Terry and say, 'You may want to play but it would be better in the current climate if you stayed at home'.

"This whole situation stinks. We have a young squad looking forward to what should be a showpiece international but, instead, we are an embarrassment."

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