Capello's worst fears were realized when UEFA handed Wayne Rooney a three match prohibit that will see him miss all of England's Euro 2012 group games.
Rooney's kick at Montenegro's Miodrag Dzudovoic last Friday was judged "an assault" by UEFA's control and disciplinary board, who stuck to the letter of the rule in handing out the punishment in spite of a plea for leniency from the FA.
It means Fabio Capello now has to judge whether to take Rooney as part of his squad to Poland and Ukraine, and trust that he can make an impact if England makes it through to the quarter finals.
The Football Association will wait for the full reasons behind the conclusion before deciding whether to appeal. The ban could even be increased by an appeal panel, but that would be doubtful and it looks odds on that the FA will attempt to have the suspension reduced.
The Manchester United striker is understood to be very disappointed in the result but will follow the FA's recommendation about any appeal.
Former England striker Alan Shearer described the ban as "a vast blow" to England's opportunities in the European Championships, and called the kick "a silly mistake".
Shearer told BBC Radio 5 Live: "It's a vast blow. It's not only a enormous blow to the team, to the fans and to football followers but to Wayne himself because he realizes he's made a stupid fault.
"I still think whoever replaces Rooney in the team, England still should have plenty to get through the three games without him."
Phil Neville, Rooney's former team mate for United and England, labeled the decision "a joke".
The Everton midfielder said on Twitter: "Rooney prohibited for three games what a joke but it was a Dutch Italian German Spanish player they wouldn't even get 1 game #fact."
Rooney was shown a straight red by German referee Wolfgang Stark for kicking Dzudovoic England boss Capello confessed it was a "silly error" by the 25-year old, who instantly put himself in danger of receiving the 3 match ban.
UEFA's disciplinary rules state that a player will receive a "suspension for three competition matches or for a particular period for assaulting another player or other person there at the match".
A UEFA report said: "Today's decision was taken in relation to the red card shown to Rooney for assault after 74 minutes of England's final Group G game, the 2-2 draw with Montenegro in Podgorica.
"The striker will at the present be suspended from playing in his country's next three UEFA national competition matches for which he would be entitled."
The FA have three days to make a decision whether to appeal, and they said in a declaration: "Further to UEFA's decision to enforce a three-match suspension on Wayne Rooney following his sending-off against Montenegro, the FA wait for the full reasons from the disciplinary committee, and will give full consideration to the decision internally, before deciding on any response to UEFA or making any further public remark."
The FA had taken some expect from a previous case involving Andrey Arshavin, who was given a two match ban and missed Russia's first two games of Euro 2008 after being sent-off against Andorra. But in that case television proof was less clear cut than in Rooney's.
In 2004, Chelsea's Marcel Desailly was initially gave a three-match ban for elbowing Monaco's Fernando Morientes but that was reduced on plea to two games after UEFA said the act was not purposeful.
Rooney's kick at Montenegro's Miodrag Dzudovoic last Friday was judged "an assault" by UEFA's control and disciplinary board, who stuck to the letter of the rule in handing out the punishment in spite of a plea for leniency from the FA.
It means Fabio Capello now has to judge whether to take Rooney as part of his squad to Poland and Ukraine, and trust that he can make an impact if England makes it through to the quarter finals.
The Football Association will wait for the full reasons behind the conclusion before deciding whether to appeal. The ban could even be increased by an appeal panel, but that would be doubtful and it looks odds on that the FA will attempt to have the suspension reduced.
The Manchester United striker is understood to be very disappointed in the result but will follow the FA's recommendation about any appeal.
Former England striker Alan Shearer described the ban as "a vast blow" to England's opportunities in the European Championships, and called the kick "a silly mistake".
Shearer told BBC Radio 5 Live: "It's a vast blow. It's not only a enormous blow to the team, to the fans and to football followers but to Wayne himself because he realizes he's made a stupid fault.
"I still think whoever replaces Rooney in the team, England still should have plenty to get through the three games without him."
Phil Neville, Rooney's former team mate for United and England, labeled the decision "a joke".
The Everton midfielder said on Twitter: "Rooney prohibited for three games what a joke but it was a Dutch Italian German Spanish player they wouldn't even get 1 game #fact."
Rooney was shown a straight red by German referee Wolfgang Stark for kicking Dzudovoic England boss Capello confessed it was a "silly error" by the 25-year old, who instantly put himself in danger of receiving the 3 match ban.
UEFA's disciplinary rules state that a player will receive a "suspension for three competition matches or for a particular period for assaulting another player or other person there at the match".
A UEFA report said: "Today's decision was taken in relation to the red card shown to Rooney for assault after 74 minutes of England's final Group G game, the 2-2 draw with Montenegro in Podgorica.
"The striker will at the present be suspended from playing in his country's next three UEFA national competition matches for which he would be entitled."
The FA have three days to make a decision whether to appeal, and they said in a declaration: "Further to UEFA's decision to enforce a three-match suspension on Wayne Rooney following his sending-off against Montenegro, the FA wait for the full reasons from the disciplinary committee, and will give full consideration to the decision internally, before deciding on any response to UEFA or making any further public remark."
The FA had taken some expect from a previous case involving Andrey Arshavin, who was given a two match ban and missed Russia's first two games of Euro 2008 after being sent-off against Andorra. But in that case television proof was less clear cut than in Rooney's.
In 2004, Chelsea's Marcel Desailly was initially gave a three-match ban for elbowing Monaco's Fernando Morientes but that was reduced on plea to two games after UEFA said the act was not purposeful.
