John Terry: FA set to remove England captaincy

The Football Association is set to remove the England captaincy from John Terry, with an announcement before the weekend, the BBC has learned.FA chairman David Bernstein has spoken to board members and the majority view is Terry should be stood down. He would still be available for selection.Terry is due to stand trial in July over racial abuse allegations after an incident with QPR's Anton Ferdinand.The Chelsea defender has entered a plea of not guilty to the charge.Bernstein is expected to speak to England manager Fabio Capello about the issue on Friday.The Italian has until now maintained the position that Terry is innocent until proven guilty and that he should be free to select him as his captain until his trial is over.There is some nervousness among board members as to how Capello will react, with some fearing he will see it as undue interference in team affairs.But there is now an acceptance among the FA hierarchy that the matter should be taken out of his hands. The FA has been forced to act after Terry's case was adjourned until 9 July - a week after the Euro 2012 finals end - ensuring that the affair will dominate the build-up to the championships. For some time now Bernstein has been growing increasingly concerned at the FA's position on Terry.Some board members have lobbied him to take decisive action to ensure the FA is not accused of being weak on racism.Black players within the England squad have also been putting pressure on the Professional Footballers Association to take a stronger stance on Terry. This is believed to have also played a part in forcing the FA to show greater leadership on the issue.