John Terry: Centre Back to Right Wing

Why I cannot support an England team led by John Terry

I cannot support an England team led by John Terry. His selection – in particular his continued role as captain – undermines everything English football and society have done to eradicate racism in recent years. His actions make a mockery of our country’s traditions of social democracy, justice and equality.

Days after Armistice day, a time when we remember those who died fighting against a racist regime, John Terry led out an England side at Wembley. The irony was disturbing. Unfortunately we cannot prevent him holding racist views; that, sadly, is his prerogative. However we can prevent him from saying them in public; directing his torrent of abuse at other players and becoming a poster boy for the far-right.

This is not about context, it’s about the shame he has bestowed upon this country and his inclusion – and captaincy – continues to leave many rational fans feeling embarrassed to be English. What message does it send to the rest of the world?…That we tolerate racism? That it’s ok to be racist (or park in disabled bays, mock 9/11 victims, covet your teammate’s girlfriend and sell stadium tours for cash) provided you are good enough on the pitch, to justify your raping of morality off it? I refuse to support a nation, institution, or team that turns a blind eye. A plague upon on our game.

Poppygate threatened to over shadow both the Terry debate and the match itself. While I support the wearing of a poppy, FIFA might have been (somewhat unintentionally) saving the FA from a political own goal. The hypocrisy of a captain, currently under police investigation for racially abusing an opponent, wearing a symbol of freedom, unity and respect could be damaging to not only the FA but the poppy appeal itself.

Chelsea’s pledge to identify the Neanderthals who echoed Terry’s sentiments in the stands, smells of a club trying to distance itself from past links to far-right groups such as combat 18. However, a PR stunt or not, should their endeavours bear fruit and lead to successful convictions, their motives will almost certainly be absolved. Immanuel Kant referred to this as the Hypothetical Imperative. Twitterlosopher and Nietzsche fan, Joseph Barton was unavailable for comment.

There are the diehard fans who will claim it was taken out of context. It wasn’t. Equally, there are those who will claim he said something entirely different. He didn’t. Those of us who watched the game live and were privy to the pre-censored clips, know exactly what was said and the manner in which he said it. More importantly John Terry himself knows what he said. Worryingly, so do the FA. Due process is not something to hide behind. Neither is denial.

This is not a personal attack on John Terry (or Chelsea for that matter). Had someone else said it, my views would remain the same. If they too were the nation’s captain, figurehead and ambassador then I would be equally ferocious in my attack. There is simply no place for racism, or any other form of discrimination in football. The FA have the opportunity to send a message to the world that discrimination will not be tolerated here. We have publicly criticised the Spanish FA for a lack of potency when dealing with racism within their own game, yet how can we criticise countries that turn a blind eye to fans directing monkey chants at players, when we can’t even keep our own house in order?

To clarify, not every Chelsea fan is proud of the clubs links with the far-right. I also understand why even the most rational of Chelsea fans remain loyal to their captain. The bond between a club legend and the fans is strong, like family. Although like family, blood is thicker than water and we can defend our loved ones with misplaced gusto; desperate for others to see what we see. At club level I imagine I would feel inspired by his passion and will to win. However at a national level John Terry is representing all of us, not just Chelsea. He stands for England and when he wears that armband he IS England. Therein lay the problem. His views are not representative of my England. I doubt they are representative of yours.

The England captaincy is the most politicised and symbolic role in our game. Capello has openly admitted he doesn’t understand the fuss. Maybe he’s right. But the point remains, we currently ask a lot from our national captains both on and off the pitch. Role model, ambassador, figurehead, advert, cash cow, leader and player. Most of which is off the pitch. Most of which is proving unsuitable for John Terry. Yes he is a leader on the pitch; but off it…? My biggest concern is who is he leading? Are his comments, indirectly or otherwise, leading us back to the dark days of racist chanting on the terraces? If just one young person copies his actions, growing up to believe it is ok to harbour these abhorrent views because ‘John Terry said it was ok’, then the damage will have already been done.

Therefore now is the time for damage limitation from the FA. Back your own campaign. Kick it out. Strip John Terry of the captaincy and suspend him pending a full enquiry. If he is found guilty, make an example of him. So from Carlisle to Cornwall, Newcastle to Newquay, everyone will know racism will not be tolerated in this country.

Football has the power to unite. The FA have the opportunity to restore national pride. A racist wearing a poppy is still a racist.