England Comment: Wayne Bridge The Man, Not The Footballer, Was Right To Quit England over John Terry affair

Few players are ever praised for quitting international football prematurely.

When Paul Scholes decided to retire from England duty at the age of 29, he was unfairly castigated and his ‘hunger’ was questioned.

Similarly, when Jamie Carragher grew tired of warming the England bench, he was branded a ‘bottler’ who put his love for his club ahead of his country.

But I say bravo to Wayne Bridge, who today quit international football in the wake of John Terry having an affair with the mother of his child.  

Bridge, 29, made his decision based on his principles as a man – not a footballer – and you can only respect him for doing so.

The Manchester City left-back has decided that he cannot even stomach shaking the hand of his former best friend when his team faces Chelsea this weekend.

So we cannot even begin to imagine how sickened he could be by the prospect of teaming up with Terry in England’s back four.

It was clear, with the media frenzy surrounding Bridge and Terry – exacerbated by the fact that Ashley Cole’s injury meant the two would be playing together sooner rather than later – that the situation was untenable.

Something had to give… and it was Bridge who did the ‘honourable’ thing today.

In a moral world, it would be Wayne Bridge, not John Terry starting for England next week against Egypt – and at the World Cup finals.

But in the world of football – or perhaps any sport – morality is not the highest priority.

Yes Fabio Capello made the only decision he could make, and stripped Terry of the armband.

But Terry will continue playing for England, and will forever be lionized as the ‘team man who gives his all and plays with his heart on his sleeve’ – regardless, it seems, of what he gets up to off the pitch.

Bridge & Terry were best friends & team-mates during full-back's Chelsea tenure

His history of indiscretions are papered over by the very efficient publicists he hires to bolster his image as England’s ‘main man’.

And with senior figures in the England camp such as Stuart Pearce this week calling on the two players to put it behind them, adding: “I don’t see this as being an issue,” and describing Terry as a  “fantastic leader of men,” among other cliches, Bridge may just have felt that the Capello and his team were more keen on putting a lid on the scandal than making him feel valued or even respected.

Maybe Stuart Pearce has never had to play with a team mate who slept with the mother of his child behind his back.

For those who can imagine no greater feeling or honour than playing for your country at the World Cup, Bridge may seem a fool, but his decision transcends football.

One day he may look back and feel a twinge of regret that he didn’t add to his 36 England caps and go to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

But perhaps that would be nothing compared to how he would feel if he compromised his own personal set of principles to line up next to John Terry at Wembley next week.