PLAYING AWAY FROM HOME ...

Should England football captain John Terry be sacked from that position for shagging a woman who is not his wife? That is the question that seems to be overshadowing everything else in the U.K. at the moment.

No, in my view. Unless there is some sort of contractual commitment that we don't know about, being the leader on the football field does not demand marital fidelity. It is true that the woman in question was the girlfriend of a fellow member of the England squad, and had had his child. But they had already split up before Terry appeared on the scene. Justifying a sacking on the grounds of bringing peace to the dressing room seems to be more than overegging the pudding. Besides which, Terry is a much, much better player than Wayne Bridge will ever be. If one of them had to go, it wouldn't be Terry.

Tiger Woods had vast column inches of disapproval heaped all over him for doing similar things, and lost a lot of endorsements as a result. However, those endorsements were given - in part - because he represented an image of the squeaky-clean family man; and if he no longer is, then it is fair enough that companies reappraise their use of him in their marketing. But nobody is suggesting that he shouldn't be allowed to play at the Master's or in the Ryder Cup.

Terry was chosen to be captain by the England manager, since he was reckoned to be the best man to lead England at this year's World Cup. Nothing revealed this past week changes any of that.

Walter Blotscher