First the positives. John Terry was a good defender, for club and country. He won a lot for the former, and nothing for the latter.
Now the question. Does this make him worthy of an ambassadorial role at the World Cup? The former Chelsea centre-back has enjoyed a high-profile presence in the United States as a guest of Fifa, even sitting one row behind the global supremo Gianni Infantino for England’s drab draw with Ghana in Boston.
And over and above his free ticket for a posh seat, he was seen walking around the pitch interacting with current England players before the match. He was present again for England’s win against Panama and the knockout victory over DR Congo, giving post-match “verdicts” on social media along the lines of “the boys showed great fight tonight, the performance wasn’t ideal but let’s enjoy it”.
And even though the Football Association insists it has nothing to do with Terry’s presence there, the optics are not good, as he is in close proximity to the current England setup, if not officially connected. Indeed, he was sitting next to FA chief executive Mark Bullingham for the Ghana match.
There is no escaping Terry’s connection to England, of course. He did, after all, play 78 times for his country. But he is a terrible choice as an ambassador at the World Cup – and an awful option for a Three Lions cheerleader.
It’s not just because he was fined £220,000 and banned for four matches for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand in 2011 – an offence which did not meet the burden of proof for a criminal conviction a year later.
And it is not only because he is in a country whose citizens he mocked when he and his Chelsea teammates went on a binge when their European game was cancelled after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre on 11 September 2001, taunting traumatised tourists staying at the same hotel as the Blues near Heathrow.
And it is not because he made a right plum of himself when he strutted onto the pitch in full Chelsea kit to lift the trophy when the Blues had won the Champions League in 2012, even though he was suspended following a red card in the semi-final.
We could go on. The weeing in a pint glass, the parking in a disabled bay.
All of these misdemeanours should be taken into account when weighing up whether Terry is ambassador material. As should the optics of Terry reposting anti-Muslim and xenophobic statements from hard-right MP Rupert Lowe when he advocated for a ban on the burqa just before the tournament be given scrutiny. Terry later deleted his repost.
But the main reason he is possibly the worst ambassadorial posting from the UK in the US since Peter Mandelson is because of the damage he did to the England teams he was involved in as a player and captain.
England didn’t even qualify for the first tournament he was captain for, Euro 2008. Then at the 2010 World Cup he was at the centre of a divisive campaign to undermine the then-manager Fabio Capello. He was one of the ringleaders of an England camp which has since gone down as one of the most clique-ridden, acrimonious squads in English history.
Players aligned themselves along club affiliations – chiefly Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool – and there was little of the togetherness that fans have seen under Gareth Southgate and continued with Thomas Tuchel. Players spoke of England duty as a chore, and of a tense, uncollaborative environment when they were in camp.
Then in 2012, he was named in the squad for the European Championship at the expense of Rio Ferdinand, leading to speculation the omission of the latter was because of the upcoming trial concerning the Anton Ferdinand incident. England bowed out in the quarter-finals, losing a penalty shootout against Italy.
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It has taken years for England to rid themselves of the cliques and egos that were a hallmark of the late noughties and early 2010s. Southgate should take most of the credit, along with Tuchel, for making players feel at home, in a supportive environment.
Terry, meanwhile, exuded a bigger main-character vibe than Marlon Brando throughout his career. And having him as the highest-profile former England player other than David Beckham at the World Cup is a terrible look. It is the antithesis of Tuchel’s all-for-one philosophy.
The FA would do well to make sure Terry remains at arm’s length for the remainder of the World Cup. There are so many other games that Fifa could book him in for. Perhaps Mexico can refuse him a visa.
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