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Capello made Terry statement

Fabio Capello quit his role as England boss over the FA's decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy © Getty Images

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John Terry's legal team obtained witness statements from former England manager Fabio Capello and ex-assistant Franco Baldini in an attempt to establish that he should not have had to face an FA disciplinary commission, ESPN can reveal.

Earlier this summer, a court cleared Terry, 31, of racially abusing QPR's Anton Ferdinand during a match at Loftus Road in October. The FA pressed its own charges over the incident.

ESPN has learned that the questions Terry's legal team posed to Capello and Baldini revolved around procedure.

An insider said: "Fabio Capello and Franco Baldini were approached a few weeks ago to provide witness statements. Fabio asked the FA, and they had no objection.

"John Terry's lawyers asked a few questions, and Fabio and Franco gave their answers in a statement. The questions were not concerning the facts of the case as Franco was no longer working for the FA when it happened and Fabio was not there and so didn't know what happened that day.

"They were about the general policy of the FA in similar circumstances, about the FA's attitude toward court proceedings and how that impacted on their own disciplinary procedures. Fabio had a couple of players either involved in a fight in a pub or car crashes, but they were not sport related. The John Terry case happened on the pitch, and was therefore related to football."

The ESPN source suggested no questions about the former England captain's character, or related to the clash between the FA and Capello over Terry's captaincy, were asked. Capello and Baldini have not been attending the ongoing FA hearing.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.