Former Chelsea coach Ray Wilkins believes that the Football Association's decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy is a way of saying that they think he is guilty of racist abuse.
The Blues skipper will no longer lead his national side in the European Championships due to a pending court trial on charges of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand.
Reports have suggested that the 31-year-old will retire from international football but Wilkins believes that the "distraught" centre-back needs some support.
"If you take the captaincy away from John, take his position away from him as well because you are telling him he's guilty and you're telling the nation that John Terry's guilty," Wilkins told talkSPORT.
"With the captaincy stripped off him once again, he's going to feel down and cheesed off but they're still going to require John to be 100% behind them. He's extremely strong but certain people can only take so much. He's looking for a little bit of support here from the FA.
"John's a strong guy but I don't know what he'll do. Knowing John, he will go. He will be distraught. He's a very proud man. He feels that leading his country is the ultimate honour that a professional footballer can have and he's dead right - it is."
Meanwhile, Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has ruled himself out of the running to succeed Terry.
Danielle Joynson
