I wrote yesterday that Fabio Capello And FA were set for a fireworks meeting today with neither site apparently ready to concede ground over John Terry.
Well after meeting today, it became apparent that the two sides could no longer work together and the FA has announced that Fabio Capello has stepped down as England manager.
An FA statement read:
“The Football Association can confirm that Fabio Capello has today resigned as England manager. The discussions focused on the FA Board’s decision to remove the England team captaincy from John Terry, and Fabio Capello’s response through an Italian broadcast interview.
In a meeting for over an hour, Fabio’s resignation was accepted and he will leave the post of England manager with immediate effect.”
FA chairman David Bernstein said: “I would like to stress that during [the] meeting and throughout his time as England manager, Fabio has conducted himself in an extremely professional manner. We have accepted Fabio’s resignation, agreeing this is the right decision. We would like to thank Fabio for his work with the England team and wish him every success in the future.”
A media conference with Bernstein and the Club England management team will take place at Wembley Stadium on Thursday at 1200 GMT.
In comments attributed to Italpress, Capello said the FA’s actions had made it easy for him to step down.
“They really insulted me and damaged my authority,” Capello was quoted as saying. “What really hit me and forced me to take this decision was the much-vaunted Anglo-Saxon sense of justice, as they are the first to claim that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. In Terry’s case, they gravely offended me and damaged my authority at the head of the England side, effectively creating a problem for the squad. I have never tolerated certain crossing of lines, so it was easy for me to spot it and take my decision to leave.”
Not surprised at the decision. Capello was a lame duck manager and he knew what he was doing when he gave the interview to Italian TV on Saturday. There was only going to be one ending to this story and that Fabio Capello resigning as England manager.
The odds on favorite to replace Capello is Harry Redknapp, whose path to the England job was cleared after he was cleared of tax evasion today.