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John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy, the Football Association has confirmed. The 31-year-old Chelsea centre-back was informed of the decision by FA chairman David Bernstein in a phone call at 1000 GMT. He is due to stand trial in July over racial abuse allegations after an incident with QPR's Anton Ferdinand. Terry, who lost the captaincy once previously, has entered a plea of not guilty to the charge. In a statement the FA said Terry would not "captain the England team until the allegations against him are resolved". "The FA board expected the trial to be concluded prior to the European Championship. Further to Wednesday's confirmation that the trial will not take place until after the tournament, the board has discussed the matter in detail and has collectively decided it is in the interests of all parties that John has the responsibilities of captaincy removed at this time," the FA said. "This decision has been taken due to the higher profile nature of the England captaincy, on and off the pitch, and the additional demands and requirements expected of the captain leading into and during a tournament." The FA said Capello was free to select Terry for the Netherlands friendly in February and Euro 2012. "FA chairman David Bernstein has spoken to both John Terry and Fabio Capello to explain the facts to them," the statement continued. "Fabio Capello has not been involved in the FA Board discussions which reached this conclusion, but understands that the FA Board has authority to make this decision. "Fabio Capello will take the decision as to who will be made captain moving forward. "This decision in no way infers any suggestion of guilt in relation to the charge made against John Terry. The FA will be not be making any further comment on this matter." BBC Sport understands the majority view among FA board members was that Terry should be stood down. Capello had until now maintained the position that Terry was innocent until proven guilty and that he should be free to select him as his captain until his trial is over. There was some nervousness among board members as to how the Italian would react, with some fearing he will see it as undue interference in team affairs. But there was an acceptance among the FA hierarchy that the matter should be taken out of his hands. The FA has been forced to act after Terry's case was adjourned until 9 July - a week after the Euro 2012 finals end - ensuring that the affair will dominate the build-up to the championships. For some time now Bernstein has been growing increasingly concerned at the FA's position on Terry. Some board members have lobbied him to take decisive action to ensure the FA is not accused of being weak on racism. Black players within the England squad have also been putting pressure on the Professional Footballers' Association to take a stronger stance on Terry. This is believed to have also played a part in forcing the FA to act. Terry was previously stripped of the captaincy when Capello removed him from the role in February 2010 following allegations he had an affair with an England team-mate's ex-girlfriend. Terry was reinstated 13 months later with Capello saying "one year of punishment is enough". Former FA chief executive Mark Palios questioned why the FA had opted to change its stance on Terry, having kept him as captain since the allegations were first made in October. He told BBC Radio 5 live : "What the FA has to do is a balancing act between the rights of the individual and the wider game. I don't know how that will affect the dressing room and make it better than it was by keeping him in the squad but taking the captaincy off him." Mark Perryman, of the England supporters' club, told 5 live it was difficult to understand why the case was taking 10 months to come to court. "The court case should have been dealt with immediately," he said. "As a result the FA have got themselves in an incredible tangle of him playing but not being captain. "Mark Palios is right to question what has happened in the last 24 hours to make the FA act."