Bad sport

Should John Terry be stripped of his captain’s armband for conducting an extramarital affair with a teammate’s girlfriend, getting her pregnant, and then paying for her to have an abortion? Of course not.

Should John Terry be stripped of his captain’s armband for conducting an extramarital affair with a teammate’s girlfriend, getting her pregnant, and then paying for her to have an abortion? Of course not. England expects that sort of behaviour from its football stars: it’s a part of our national sport. Newspapers play the game too. The papers that now piously call for honour among sportsmen in light of Terry’s disgrace are the same organs that have revelled most in his delinquency; that ran headlines saying ‘Terry scores again’ after his winning goal against Burnley last weekend.

It’s not as if the players mooted to replace Terry as England skipper are models of decency. Steven Gerrard, the bookmakers’ favourite, was recently charged with assault (though later acquitted) following his involvement in a late-night bar brawl. Wayne Rooney, the next best choice, has admitted to visiting prostitutes. A team selection policy based on moral virtue would leave the England side without most of its stars.

There is, however, a more compelling reason to take the captaincy away from Terry: he simply isn’t that good at football. He has many of the qualities that England fans admire in a leader: he shouts loudly, kicks his opponents, talks with pride about ‘the three lions’ and cries like a child when he loses. But for an international player, Terry is cumbersome on the pitch, and often gets sent off for professional fouls. Football would have a better chance of coming home this summer if Terry stayed at home.