Capello walks away from England post

London, England – The Football Association confirmed on Wednesday that Fabio Capello has resigned as England manager.

Capello was critical of the FA in an interview with Italian television when it was announced that John Terry had been stripped of the England captaincy amid charges of racial abuse against QPR's Anton Ferdinand.

Terry's trial is not set to begin until July, which is after this summer's European Championships, and Capello did not agree with the FA's decision to strip the Chelsea defender.

A meeting was held on Wednesday between Capello and the board, and the Italian decided to tender his resignation, which the FA accepted.

A statement from the FA read: "The Football Association can confirm that Fabio Capello has today resigned as England manager. This follows a meeting involving FA chairman David Bernstein, FA general secretary Alex Horne and Fabio Capello at Wembley Stadium.

"The discussions focused on The FA Board's decision to remove the England team captaincy from John Terry, and Fabio Capello's response through an Italian broadcast interview.

"In a meeting for over an hour, Fabio's resignation was accepted and he will leave the post of England manager with immediate effect."

No announcement over a replacement was made on Wednesday with a media conference set to take place on Thursday.

Capello took charge of the England squad in December 2007 but was only able to guide England to the second round of the 2010 World Cup, where the Three Lions were soundly beaten by Germany, 4-1.

The 65-year-old helped England qualify for this summer's European Championships and had previously announced that the competition would be his last as manager of the team.