Former Tottenham and Arsenal defender Sol Campbell has spoken out against the English FA for what he claims was discrimination based on the color of his skin.
Having won 73 caps with the Three Lions, Campbell believes he should have been awarded the Captain's armband ahead of Michael Owen and his other teammates of that era who included Alan Shearer, David Beckham and Steven Gerrard.
'I believe that if I was white I would have been England captain for 10 years,' said the veteran.
'I don't think it [the situation] will change because they don't want it. It's all right to have a black or mixed race captain of the Under 18s or Under 21s but not for the full national side.'
'There is a ceiling and, although no one has ever said it, I believe it's made of glass.'
'Michael Owen was made captain ahead of me and I thought, "What's going on here?" I think the FA didn't want me to have a voice.'
'Owen was a fantastic forward but nowhere near being a captain. I've asked myself many times why I wasn't [named captain]. I keep coming up with the same answer. It was the colour of my skin.'
Rio Ferdinand [below] is the only black player to have been named England's official leading captain.
Is there racism in the English FA?
