Shamed Terry braces himself for terrace abuse

London, Feb.7 (ANI): Scandal-hit football ace John Terry is due to lead Chelsea out at Stamford Bridge for a crunch London derby against bitter rivals Arsenal this afternoon, and he knows he can expect more abuse from spectators and fans.

Terry, 29, who was stripped of his England captain's band on Friday, received fierce barracking from fans during the two matches he played after allegations first surfaced last weekend that he had an extra-marital affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the ex-partner of England team-mate Wayne Bridge.

Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti has refused to consider dropping Terry from the side to face the Gunners and insists the player has shown total professionalism during a week when his private life became front page news.

Terry told The Sun newspaper - which signed him up last year as a columnist - that he was "gutted" at being sacked.

"It hurts so much, but I will fight back. If there's a 1% chance of being World Cup captain, I will fight for it tooth and nail," he said.

Capello also faces being besieged by the media today, when he attends the draw for the 2012 European Championships in Warsaw, Poland.

Strong, ruthless, decisive and brutal - these were some of the adjectives applied to Fabio Capello when the England boss sacked Terry as his captain.

Terry and Perroncel were the subject of more lurid front page headlines on Saturday, despite the fact she has chosen not to sell her story to the papers.

Speaking on Ms Perroncel's behalf, publicist Max Clifford said: "The details of my friendship with John and his family have been the subject of intense and wholly unfair and untrue media speculation."

Last Saturday, fans of Burnley taunted Terry and he suffered more abuse when he played at Hull on Tuesday.

Bridge, a one-time Chelsea team-mate of Terry's, returned to the Manchester City starting line-up yesterday following injury.

He was also subject to some taunts during the match at Hull, who beat Man City 2-1.

Yesterday England's new football captain Rio Ferdinand was given a hero's welcome by fans when he arrived at Old Trafford. (ANI)