Like most people, I’ve been following the case of John Terry with some interest and have often thought of writing an article on the subject but thought it best to stay out of such a controversial issue and stick to talking about Manchester United matches.

In any case, I have no allegiance or otherwise with John Terry. I couldn’t care less if he will captain England at Euro 2012 or even if he stays at home and watches it on telly. What goes on in John Terry’s head could not mean less to me. If he harbours any prejudices towards certain groups of people then that is something for him to reconcile as far as I’m concerned.

Of course, if it was found that John Terry is indeed guilty of using a racist slur towards Anton Ferdinand then he should not only be stripped of the captaincy but he should never again wear the English shirt. Despite what white English people might like to believe, England is, and always has been, a hugely multi-cultural little island.

The term Anglo-Saxon comes from the Angles and the Saxons who were basically Germanic tribes which invaded England after the Romans (Italians). Then the Scandinavian Vikings had their wicked way with us as they raped, pillaged and looted our fair isle for a couple of hundred years before William and his French-speaking pals came over and shot poor Harold in the eye and so it went on.

So, to be “English” is and always has been to be of an enormously multi-cultural heritage.

However, racial stereotypes of what it is to be “English” aside, one thing that we “English” do possess is a sense of fair play – something which is recognised by our legal system which  is based on the presumption of innocence (or, “innocent until proven guilty”).

And this is where I actually became offended by the FA’s actions last week.

As the John Terry case is now a legal matter, he is legally bound not to speak on the matter until the court case so he is not in a position to defend himself at this time even if it must be tempting to do so. By stripping him of the captaincy before his guilt or otherwise has been ascertained, the FA have acted in a way which, to my mind, attacks a fundamental tenet of English society.

The question, therefore, should not be “Should John Terry represent England?” but “Should the English FA represent England?”

While I’m here, I may as well give my take on the whole John Terry situation for anyone interested in reading it.

I have seen the video of when John Terry was deemed to have committed his “crime” and it would require an expert lip-reader to fully determine what he said because you can’t actually hear what he says, you can only see his lips move.

However, a smiling John Terry is seen to be trying to attract Anton Ferdinand’s attention…

“Anton!…. Anton!!…. Anton!”, he cries several times whilst smiling all the while. Clearly John Terry has a really funny joke he wants to share with Anton Ferdinand and he’s not going to rest until he has Anton’s attention. Anton is off camera but I presume he had his back to Terry and was walking away but he must have heard Terry’s calling and so turned round to see what comical gem he has in store for him.

At which point John Terry allegedly utters the molten nuggets of comedic gold, “You black cunt!”.

Now. I am not saying that John Terry is the sharpest knife in the drawer but he has never really struck me as a complete numpty so I think you have to consider the context of the situation here.

He is playing in a high profile Premier League match. He is playing for a high profile Premier League team. Indeed, he is the Captain and “Mr Chelsea”. He is also, at this stage, the England Captain.

The ground is full of tens of thousands of supporters. There are twenty one other players on the pitch, ten of which are his own teammates, some of whom are also “black”. There is also a referee and his assistants in fairly close proximity. And there is that most damning of all witnesses: the TV camera… lots of them.

At this point, I can only come to three conclusions.

1) John Terry genuinely believed that calling a black person a “black cunt” was in some way humorous and that Anton Ferdinand was certain to see the funny side and laugh along with him. For this to be the case then Terry would have to so totally out of touch that it is inconceivable and is clearly absurd. It would mean, however, that Terry, whilst clearly a racist, is at least an honest racist who does not take his cues from the societal pressures and is content with his prejudices.

2) John Terry didn’t actually care what Anton thought of his “joke” and just thought that he’d get away with it – that no one else would hear him and that it wouldn’t be picked up by any cameras or microphones.

This explanation is almost as absurd as the first and if either of these are true then I would suggest that with Terry now 31 years old and having been playing at the top level for over a decade then it would surely have manifested itself before now if either was the case and such an outspoken and forthright racist would surely never have been considered for the England Captaincy in the first place?

3) John Terry didn’t actually call Anton Ferdinand a “black cunt” at all. He did, in fact, say what he said he said shortly afterwards and that was “you blind cunt”.

I have to say that both words fit his lips quite easily to my admittedly amateur lip-reading abilities but, as an Englishman (who believes in fair play, presumption of innocence etc) I simply have to believe that this last explanation is the true explanation – until it is proven otherwise.

Having said all this, I do believe that John Terry could have done himself a lot of good by, not admitting guilt, but accepting that the situation had compromised the FA and Fabio Capello and offering to relinquish the Captain’s armband of his own accord.

Incidentally, just as a thought, isn’t International Football (or any International sporting competition for that matter) inherently racist?

Whilst there is actually no clear definition of “racism”, it is generally understood and accepted to be the belief that one race is superior or inferior to another.

When Euro 2012 kicks off, isn’t that exactly what we are seeking to establish? The lines will be drawn, the tribes will be out in force, the English will hate the Germans, the Germans will hate the Dutch and the French will be hated by everybody (including themselves) all over again and all, ostensibly, in the name of “bringing us together through football”.

Just saying…