Chelsea captain announces shock England retirement

John Terry has stunned the FA by retiring from England duty the day before their hearing into whether or not he racially abused Anton Ferdinand in the infamous derby between QPR and Chelsea last October.

The FA stripped the defender of the captaincy in February when it was confirmed that he would face police charges - a decision that prompted Fabio Capello to resign as boss - but he was taken to Euro 2012 by successor Roy Hodgson and was one of England's star performers.

The Blues skipper was then cleared in court in July, however the FA opted to follow it up with their own investigation, which has been pinpointed by the 31-year-old as the reason that he felt he couldn't carry on.

He released a statement saying: "I am today announcing my retirement from international football. I would like to thank the England managers who have selected me for my 78 caps. I have had great pleasure in sharing that honour with all the players that I have played with.

"I would like to thank them, the fans and my family for their support and encouragement during my international career. Representing and captaining my country is what I dreamed of as a boy and it has been a truly great honour. I have always given my all and it breaks my heart to make this decision.

"I want to wish Roy and the team every success for the future. I am making his statement today in advance of the hearing of the FA disciplinary charge because I feel the FA, in pursuing charges against me where I have already been cleared in a court of law, have made my position with the national team untenable.

"I now look forward to playing for Chelsea and challenging for domestic and European honours and I want to thank the fans and the club for their continued support."

Terry has been a constant starter throughout Hodgson's reign and it is unclear whether his unavailability will prompt the manager to consider recalling Anton's brother Rio Ferdinand, who hasn't featured since his appointment.

The development hasn't yet impacted on England's odds to win World Cup 2014, with the Three Lions still 22.0, the price that they were in the aftermath of the disappointing 1-1 home qualifying draw with Ukraine earlier this month.

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