23 September 2012 - John Terry Calls It Quits

On 23 September 2012, England captain John Terry called time on his international career in the midst of a racism scandal.

The Chelsea defender debuted for England in August 2003 and was named captain by manager Steve McClaren after the 2006 World Cup. In 2008, McClaren's replacement, Fabio Capello, retained Terry as captain, but stripped the armband from him in 2010 when the defender was accused of having an extramarital affair. Although Terry played every minute of England's games at the 2010 World Cup, midfielder Steven Gerrard served as the team's skipper.

Capello reinstated Terry as captain in March 2011. But toward the end of the year, Terry was accused of using racist language against QPR's Anton Ferdinand. The FA stepped in and stripped the captaincy from him in February 2012 in advance of a court hearing later that month. The move was made over the objections of Capello, who resigned in protest.

Terry was acquitted in court, but the FA initiated their own proceedings against him, bringing formal charges in July 2012. Then, in September, the night before the hearing, he decided to retire from international football, claiming that the FA's action had made his position "untenable." The FA proceeded with the hearing and found Terry guilty, fining him £220,000 and banning him for four matches.

He closed out his England career with a total of 78 caps, ranking eighteenth on the team's all-time appearances list.