LONDON: John Terry was gagged by the Football Association (FA) on Monday to prevent the England captain answering any questions about allegations he racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.
Chelsea defender Terry is alleged to have abused Ferdinand in a recent Premier League match and both the English FA and London’s Metropolitan Police are investigating the incident.
Terry, who has denied the claims, was asked to speak about the matter on Monday at a press conference ahead of a friendly against Sweden, but the questions were blocked by a member of the FA’s media team.
Terry would only speak about his current mood, saying: “I’m in a great state of mind and focused on training. From my point of view, nothing’s changed at all.”
England skipper Terry was rested from last weekend’s 1-0 friendly win over Spain, although manager Fabio Capello insisted this had nothing to do with the racism allegations.
Terry, due to play against Sweden at Wembley on Tuesday, said: “I think the players have showed we’re united no matter what and put in a very good performance against Spain.”
Midfielder Frank Lampard, a Chelsea teammate of Terry, captained England on Saturday and with the team shutting out the world champions the central defender said it was always possible he could be dropped.
“I don’t feel undroppable – I’ve never thought that with England or Chelsea,” added Terry. “If my form’s not good enough the manager (Capello) is big enough to drop anyone, as we’ve seen. (AFP)