Other examples: Jonathan Woodgate was not selected for England while he was on trial. Steven Gerrard (below) was during his own court appearance

Instead they threw £6m a year at the problem and appointed Capello. Now they want to tell him the rules have changed, it is no longer about that bottom line, and they are exercising their contractual right to dictate the make-up of his team based on wider ethical considerations.

And do not presume it ends here. A lot can happen between now and the end of the season. A missed drugs test, an ill-advised tweet, a YouTube clip, it is all in the mix now.

The catalyst for the maelstrom around Terry was a lip-read  half-sentence, a social media outcry and a single complaint from a member of the public.

This is not to demean the severity of the charge, or of the alleged offence, but is just a reminder that it does not take grand larceny to create a firestorm these days.

Do not rule out another spin around the moral maze between now and England’s first match in Donetsk; although, for all sorts of reasons, the next one may well be Capello’s last.

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