LONDON (AP) ― Just like before the 2010 World Cup, a dispute revolving around John Terry is unsettling England’s preparations for a major tournament.

But this time, rather than acting as a unifier, Fabio Capello has been accused of exacerbating tensions ahead of the European Championship.

And as a result, the coach may have breached a lucrative contract worth about $9.5 million a year.

Capello’s authority appears to have been undermined by his employers when Terry was fired as England captain on Friday by Football Association chairman David Bernstein.

While the decision was taken to prevent Terry leading England at Euro 2012 while awaiting a criminal trial on a racism charge, Capello is annoyed his views were ignored.

Rather than keeping that strong disapproval within the FA, though, Capello went public in a live interview with Italian television on Sunday night from London.

Stating from the outset that he “absolutely” did not agree with Bernstein’s decision, Capello said players shouldn’t be punished by the FA until the courts have dealt with any alleged crimes.

Directly contradicting his FA bosses in public has revived questions about Capello’s future. Gordon Taylor, the head of the players’ union in England, told the BBC that the dispute “asks a question of the unity of the FA.”

British Sports Minister Hugh Robertson added: “If the consequence of (the decision) is the manager walks away, the consequence of that is John Terry walks away. I would regret both of those two things enormously, but so be it.”

While Capello held onto his job despite England’s second-round World Cup exit two years ago, there could now be grounds to dump the Italian before Euro 2012.

“It is being taken very seriously by the FA because it may be that Fabio Capello has breached his contract,” former FA executive director David Davies told the BBC on Monday. “You have to ask what his motive is. You have to suspect he wants to prevent John Terry retiring as a player before Euro 2012, but there are wider issues.

“You could have what some of the media are calling a morality circus while England are trying to win the second major tournament in football.”

A similar “morality circus” overshadowed England’s preparations for the 2010 World Cup, Capello’s first tournament with the team.

Back then, it was Capello who decided to strip Terry of the captaincy over allegations of an affair with teammate Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend. Bridge announced his international retirement as a result of the claims.

Capello deemed that Terry had to lose the captaincy because he was no longer a role model, but decided to reinstate him in March.

After the fresh controversy flared in October, Capello backed the Chelsea defender over allegations he racially abused Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a match, adopting the “innocent until proven guilty” stance.