London: England coach Fabio Capello alone will decide on whether John Terry keeps his job as captain of the national team.
The Football Association said Monday that Capello had spoken with the body's chairman and chief executive and been given free reign to decide whether to stick with Terry in the wake of allegations about his private life.
"Fabio is fully up to speed with developments regarding John Terry," the FA said in a statement. "He spoke with our chairman Lord (David) Triesman and chief executive Ian Watmore today, who both backed him to make the best decision for England on footballing grounds.
"Fabio is dealing with the matter in his own way using his extensive experience as a football manager."
Terry's future has been under scrutiny since last week when allegations surfaced of an affair between the married Chelsea defender and the partner of England teammate Wayne Bridge.
The allegations may be about to get even more lurid after publicist Max Clifford said the woman at the centre of the furore was considering speaking publicly.
Clifford is now representing Bridge's ex-partner. He said the woman, Vanessa Perroncel, had been offered £250,000 ($398,400) by a media outlet for exclusive rights to her story.
Clifford did not say who had offered the money.
"The £-250,000 offer is just the latest bid," Clifford told Sky News. "I am in negotiations on her behalf.
"It's a story that everyone's talking about and it's a story that obviously all the papers and the television networks are very, very keen to get to the bottom of and find out what the truth is."
But Capello's decision is most likely to hinge on whether Terry's England teammates are happy for him to continue as the team's leader, particularly since Bridge could still make the World Cup squad.
Capello, an Italian, is known as a strict disciplinarian.
Bridge has been backup to Ashley Cole at left back for the past few seasons, but British media reported over the weekend that he may retire from international football because of the situation.
Bridge released a statement saying his only concern is for the welfare of the child he had with his ex-partner, but several of his Manchester City teammates offered support Sunday when they wore T-shirts under their team shirts bearing the phrase "Team Bridge."
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Capello is likely to be questioned on the subject at Sunday's draw in Warsaw for the 2012 European Championship.
In December, golf star Tiger Woods was subject to intense media scrutiny following the revelation of his transgressions. Woods has since confessed to marital infidelities, lost millions as sponsorship deals evaporated, taken an unspecified amount of time off from professional golf and disappeared from public view.
Terry, whose past bad boy antics have been frequently chronicled by the press, never had the saintly reputation of Woods. Still, he is one of the sport's highest-paid stars playing the world's most popular game for one of the most renowned clubs — Chelsea — in the English Premier League, the world's wealthiest.
His team, Chelsea, has called the situation "a personal matter" and said they would give Terry and his family "all the support they need in dealing with it."
Much speculation Saturday focused on how the allegations could affect Terry's position on the England team and its run at the World Cup this summer in South Africa. Coach Fabio Capello has instilled a strict disciplinary code within the squad, and could pull the captaincy from Terry if he thought his off-field behaviour might affect the team.
Terry has played for Chelsea his entire career. The Blues fended off an attempt by Manchester City to sign him last year by giving him a pay rise that reportedly made him the highest-paid player in the Premier League.
Appointed Chelsea captain in 2004, he has won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and two League Cups in the most successful period in the club's history.
He was first choice in central defence for England at the 2004 European Championship and 2006 World Cup, after which he was named national team captain when Beckham relinquished the role.
But allegations of off-field transgressions have followed him throughout his career. He was fined by Chelsea after he and three teammates drunkenly abused American guests at a hotel the day after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Terry has also been ejected from nightclubs and newspapers have accused him of infidelities several times.
But Terry has retained the England captaincy, even after the country's failure to reach the 2008 European Championship, and appeared in advertisements for Samsung and sportswear manufacturer Umbro.
Despite speculation that he might hide out after all the bad publicity, Terry started in his team's game Saturday. He was booed by fans but scored the winning goal in Chelsea's 2-1 victory over Burnley, keeping his team on top of the Premier League.
"He is a fantastic player," Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti said after the game. "That is his private life. He is about work. We don't have to say nothing because he is very professional."
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