Terry stripped of captaincy... again

John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy due to concerns about his racism court trial.

The Chelsea defender was informed of the decision by English Football Association chairman David Bernstein in a phonecall at 10am today.

It comes after Bernstein yesterday contacted all the other members of the 14-strong board to seek their views following the announcement that Terry's court case will not take place until 9 July - after Euro 2012.

Terry initially lost the captaincy in February 2010 following allegations of an affair with team mate Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend, but was reinstated by manager Fabio Capello in March the following year when then captain Rio Ferdinand got injured.

It is understood that Terry will still be eligible for the England squad for Euro 2012.

Terry denies racially abusing Anton Ferdinand in a match against QPR last year.