Rio Ferdinand rules outs replacing John Terry as England captain

Rio Ferdinand has ruled himself out of the running to be named as John Terry's replacement as England captain.

Ferdinand did take over when Terry lost the captaincy two years ago but the Manchester United defender does not want the armband again.

Terry was stripped of the captaincy today until after his July 9 court case where he is accused of racially abusing Ferdinand's brother Anton, who plays for QPR. Terry denies the charge.

Rio Ferdinand said on Twitter: "I don't want to be England captain after the last episode, just want to concentrate on playin for utd&if I make the squad then as ever I'll be delighted."

Ferdinand was angered at his treatment by Capello when the captaincy was restored to Terry a year ago without the Manchester United defender being informed.

Capello offered an apology of sorts afterwards, saying he had tried to meet Ferdinand at a United match.

"Maybe I made a mistake," Capello said in March last year.

"I don't like to speak about the captaincy on the phone. I prefer to speak personally. But yes, it's possible sometimes to do everything better. For sure."

Ferdinand had been dogged by injury during his year as captain and missed out on the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 after an injury in a pre-tournament training session.

Capello decided on a change after the friendly against Denmark in February 2011 when - with Terry in the team - Frank Lampard started as skipper but passed the armband to Gareth Barry when he was substituted, who then passed it on to Ashley Cole.

Capello said afterwards: "After one year of punishment, it was not the best moment for John Terry to see this. For that reason, I need to make a decision - and it will be a permanent decision, not just one game."

PA