London: England manager Fabio Capello has been left "furious" after he was not consulted over the decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy on Friday.

The Football Association made the move after being made aware that a number of the squad's black players were uncomfortable with the defender remaining in the post, but the England manager was not told about the decision until after it had been made.

It is understood that at the last get-together of the squad, for the friendlies with Spain and Sweden in November, it was communicated to Terry that there was an issue about him remaining as captain while he faced the prospect of a court case for allegedly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.

Other senior black players in football are also understood to have raised concerns with the Professional Footballers' Association about the message that Terry's retention sent in a season scarred by racist incidents.

This unhappiness has also filtered through to the FA board and chairman David Bernstein, who secured the support for his view that Terry's position was untenable and he should be stripped of the captaincy for a second time.

Capello will hand the captaincy to Steven Gerrard, if he is fit, while Rio Ferdinand ruled himself out of the running on Friday.

There are concerns over Gerrard's fitness and Capello, who has reluctantly accepted the FA's decision, will consider other candidates such as Gareth Barry, although he is not guaranteed a place in the starting XI.

Denial

Terry is charged with racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, a charge he strenuously denies, but with his trial adjourned until after the European Championship, Bernstein took the view that he could not continue.

The Chelsea captain, who can continue to be selected for England, is understood to be considering his international future in the wake of the decision. It is thought to have left him deeply disappointed.

Terry insists he is not guilty of the charges but as a result has lost a position in which he took great pride. He will not take a "knee-jerk" decision, however, and will consult his lawyers about the legal implications of his next move.

His commitment to the national cause will be tested later this month when Capello selects a squad to play a friendly against Holland at Wembley.

The FA's lack of consultation with Capello left him angry, particularly at the speed with which the FA moved. The FA privately admits Capello is not happy with the decision. Capello was informed by Bernstein only on Thursday night, a week after the Italian had made a personal call to Terry to reassure him that he remained his first choice to lead England in the summer.

Embarrassed

Capello is also understood to have visited Terry at Chelsea's Cobham training ground since he was charged to deliver the same message. At 10am yesterday Bernstein rang Terry to tell him that the board had decided to strip him of the captaincy, leaving Capello embarrassed and arguably undermined by events.

Sources close to Capello said that he appreciated that Terry's role was vulnerable following the lengthy adjournment of his case, but he felt undermined at the swiftness with which Bernstein acted.

The decision to omit Capello from deliberations was quite deliberately taken by Bernstein, who was keen to take the decision at board level, with the FA's wider responsibilities in mind, rather than rely on the input of its most highly-paid employee.

Capello has already announced he is leaving after Euro 2012, but Bernstein and the FA board had to balance the short-term feelings of the manager against their wider role as a regulator.

— The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2012