Ferdinand will not replace sacked Terry as England captain

By Ben James Feb 3, 2012, 14:59 GMT

London - Rio Ferdinand has ruled himself out as a candidate to replace John Terry as England captain after the Chelsea defender was stripped of the job on Friday.

The 31-year-old Terry is due to face trial on July 9 on claims he racially abused an opponent during a match in October.

Terry denies the charges but the FA Board decided it was 'in the interests of all parties that John has the responsibilities of captaincy removed at this time,' an FA statement said.

Former captain Ferdinand was thought to be the obvious choice to replace him but the Manchester United took himself out of the race via his official Twitter feed.

'I don't want to be England captain after the last episode, just want to concentrate on playing for United and if I make the squad then as ever I'll be delighted,' he said.

The previous incident Ferdinand was referring to came two years ago when he replaced Terry as captain, only to then lose it to Terry without being informed of the decision by manager Fabio Capello.

Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, another former captain, is now the likely replacement.

Terry is accused of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a league match in October.

The FA said Terry would not captain the England team until the allegations against him were resolved.

A number of leading figures in the sport had called on the FA to remove Terry as captain.

It is the second time Terry has had the captaincy taken from him, having been sacked in February 2010 over allegations he had an affair with a team-mate's wife.

In its statement, the FA said: 'The FA Board expected the trial to be concluded prior to the European Championship.

'Further to Wednesday's confirmation that the trial will not take place until after the tournament, the Board has discussed the matter in detail and has collectively decided it is in the interests of all parties that John has the responsibilities of captaincy removed at this time.'

The FA said the decision was taken 'due to the higher profile nature of the England captaincy, on and off the pitch, and the additional demands and requirements expected of the captain leading into and during a tournament.'

However, Terry has not been excluded from the squad and Capello is free to select him for a match against the Netherlands on February 29 and the European Championship.

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