FABIO CAPELLO'S WAR ON WAGS

POSSIBLY the most ­disappointing fallout from the John Terry sex scandal has been the re-emergence of the WAGS.

Just when football thought it had them under control, they’ve come out of the ­woodwork in their thousands.

They are all short skirts and low morals looking for one thing – to claim a footballer.

Some of the stories have been horrendous and former England captain Terry has not been helpful in ­bringing them back into the limelight.

It is another nightmare for England coach Fabio Capello, who yesterday sacked Terry as skipper on their first ­meeting since this situation exploded.

Barely a day went by without stories alleging Terry ­exploited his privileged ­position as England captain. The Chelsea centre-half, 29, has not helped himself.

It appears he totally ­forgot everything that wearing the England ­armband ought to stand for. Capello hates this situation. He likes to be in control.

He was boiling with anger when he returned to London on Thursday to see the mass media coverage of the Terry affair.

So, what does Capello do about the WAGS at the World Cup? That is simple. Ban them.

When first asked about the wives and girlfriends after England’s successful and ­harmonious qualification for South Africa, he made a face as if to say ‘they are not ­important.’

He soon ordered that his players should have no real access to them apart from ­after every game. That ­privilege now has to go.

The World Cup is serious business. Work. Not a ­holiday camp. If the WAGS are around then I believe it will be too much of a distraction for the squad, even with Capello’s ­limited access.

We witnessed how wrong it can go in Germany when the WAGS invaded Baden-Baden, a culture that was wrongly ­allowed by then manager Sven Goran Eriksson and captain David Beckham. They have a lot to answer for.

It was here come the girls, not here comes the team. The demands from them on the players were over the top.

There were England stars who postponed extra training to answer the call to babysit, have lunch or go for an ­afternoon walk. Outside the WAGS’ hotel it was a circus, especially when they emerged to take the 10-minute walk into town. Cameras and jewellery flashing, oh how they milked it. That is not a World Cup.

England will only win it this year with complete focus. That is in danger of being lost unless Capello bans every outside distraction.

We have seen this week what lengths hopeful WAGS will go just to get close to the stars.

Again, Terry has not helped to discourage them.

So coach Capello must get even tougher. Wives and ­girlfriends can pay for ­themselves, flights and ­accommodation and ­tickets to the games.

If their access goes beyond that then the FA would be making a huge mistake. We have seen this week what trouble they can cause, what a distraction they are.

There must be a complete ban on wives and girlfriends at the World Cup. Capello will not be popular. He will be if he wins the ­trophy, against all odds now.

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