ROME, Italy (AP) — Four months before he is due to coach England at the European Championship, Fabio Capello publicly criticised his employers yesterday for going against his wishes and removing John Terry as captain.

Terry was stripped of the armband by the English Football Association on Friday, two days after his trial for racially abusing an opponent was scheduled to be held after the European Championship.

Capello told Italy’s state broadcaster RAI that he “absolutely” did not agree with the decision to dump Terry before the Chelsea defender had his day in court.

FA chairman David Bernstein fired Terry because of the difficulty in holding the high-profile captaincy role at Euro 2012 — which runs from June 8 to July 1 — when the player’s fate on criminal charges won’t be known until after his trial starts on July 9.

Bernstein said on Friday that Capello “understands that the FA Board has authority to make this decision,” but the Italian has now revealed his annoyance at the move.

“I spoke with the chairman and I told him that I don’t think someone can be punished until it becomes official,” Capello told RAI via video from London.

Capello was part of the decisionmaking process when Terry was dumped ahead of the 2010 World Cup following allegations he had an affair with a former girlfriend of England teammate Wayne Bridge.

Terry, who has played 72 times for England since his debut in 2003, was reinstated last March after Capello said “one year’s punishment is enough”.