Judging by today alone, England’s Football Association seems in complete disarray.
On the very day that Tottenham Hotspurs manager Harry Redknapp is cleared of tax evasion charges, Fabio Capello announces he’s quitting as coach of the English national team after four years in the job.
From the Associated Press:
The Italian, whose contract was due to expire after Euro 2012, resigned during an hour-long meeting with Football Association executives at Wembley Stadium after four years in the job.
The drama unfolded hours after Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp, who has long been considered Capello’s likely successor, was cleared by a British jury of tax evasion.
The FA said nothing in its statement on Wednesday night about the process for replacing Capello.
“We have accepted Fabio’s resignation, agreeing this is the right decision,” FA Chairman David Bernstein said. “We would like to thank Fabio for his work with the England team and wish him every success in the future.”
The drama erupted between Capello and the FA after its decision to strip Chelsea captain John Terry of his national captaincy, in response to an incident in which he is alleged to have abused Queen’s Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand, apparently calling him a “black c***.”
Terry has since been formally charged with racial abuse, been stripped of the England captaincy for a second time in his career and his trial won’t take place until after the Euro Cup wraps up in July.
Capello quits after becoming disgusted with the decision to strip Terry of the captaincy without consulting him. He lambasted the decision on Italian television, saying it was “absolutely” the wrong move.
From the Daily Mail:
“I completely disagree with the FA about the John Terry decision and I have told that to the chairman.
“I considered and still consider Terry the England captain. I think we first should wait for the trial conclusion.”
Releasing a brief statement today, he described as “false” any reports that he spoken ill of the Football Association.
While it’s certainly unfortunate for English fans and players that Capello has resigned, lost in much of the fray is how this has all affected Anton Ferdinand, the target of Terry’s alleged abuse.
And while this isn’t particularly surprising, it is nevertheless disappointing that the alleged target of a racial slur ought to see his suffering take a back seat to the interior politics of a national football team.
Unsurprising, because it’s often what people want to know about, and disappointing, because reports don’t often seem to focus on players who’ve been rattled by such experiences.
Anton’s brother Rio, a defender for Manchester United, told the U.K.’s Telegraph that the whole affair has been incredibly difficult on his little brother and has left him wondering whether English football has progressed at all when it comes to the treatment of minorities.
From the Telegraph:
“For my family, yes, it has been tough. At the end of the day, my brother has not brought any accusations to anyone. He is not the accused.
“But he has had to sit there and take abuse from some small-minded people, which has been very disappointing.”
Asked about progress made in fighting racism, Ferdinand said he had been “been fooled a little bit” into thinking it had.
