For the last couple of weeks, it has been impossible to escape the ongoing saga of John Terry's alleged racist comments made to QPR defender Anton Ferdinand. English Football appears to be split over the claims, with half condemning Terry as a racist thug who should be banned from playing, while others have publicly backed the Chelsea skipper.

The public have been similarly split; some have insisted that Terry is innocent until proven guilty, with others deciding that there is no smoke without fire, and that he must have made some kind of derogatory remark. Many pundits and members of the public have called for the player to be stripped of his England captaincy as a result of this.

The media attention surrounding these allegations will be a huge blow to Terry, who only recently regained the England captaincy after a previous scandal broke in the media, claiming that he had slept with the girlfriend of his then Chelsea and England teammate, Wayne Bridge. Terry's wife stood by him during that scandal, but the public, as well as the Football Association, were not so forgiving.

Some Chelsea fans have come under fire for showing their support for their captain with a series of chants about Anton Ferdinand during matches since the scandal broke, something which Chelsea have publicly vowed to prevent in future by attempting to identify those involved and issue lifetime bans. Some bookmakers (though not the more reputable Chelsea betting sites) have even started markets on whether Terry will be proved innocent or guilty!?

Despite the allegations, England boss Fabio Capello has publicly stated that he is supporting John Terry, and named Terry as captain for England's friendly win over Sweden, after leaving the defender out of the shock victory against Spain a few days earlier. Terry showed no signs of letting the scandal affect him during the match with Sweden, helping his country to keep a clean sheet in the 1-0 victory.

Terry now returns to Chelsea knowing that he still has the allegations hanging over him as he tries to prepare for the big match against Liverpool - against another player who has been accused of racist abuse, Luis Suarez. The latest Premiership betting odds make Chelsea clear favourites (well, they are playing at home).

Whilst fans world wide will be hoping for a good result for their team, Terry will be hoping he can finally prove his innocence and get this case done and dusted.