Fabio Capello piles on England's agony

A row about an alleged racially aggravated dispute between John Terry and Anton Ferdinand, reported by a bystander, has escalated into one of the most damaging episodes in the Football Association's recent history.

Meanwhile, one of the likeliest replacements for Mr Capello, Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Redknapp, has been acquitted of tax evasion charges. It is symptomatic of the corrosive relationship between football and money that a charge of tax evasion, which would have resulted in little sympathy for a banker, has in the case of Mr Redknapp only enhanced his status.

Mr Capello's resignation only adds to the sense of a national game in disarray. He is justified in wanting to sever his relationship with the FA. Its handling of the entire Terry affair has been shifty, equivocal and inconsistent.

Had it laid out clearly its own rules in respect of an England captain facing serious charges at the outset of this case and then settled the affair quickly, it might have been accused of misjudgment but not of shiftiness. Instead it has seemed to react to news headlines rather than behaving in accordance with clear principles. Removing John Terry as England captain without consulting the England manager was only the latest misjudgment.

Meanwhile, there is debate over whether Mr Capello's successor should be an Englishman or not. Mr Redknapp is insisting that his thoughts are with his club: that raises the perennial question of how to square loyalty to a club with that to the national side. For the FA, the one issue should be to choose a manager who might produce a dedicated winning side. Is this too much to ask?

University challenge

Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, is standing by his favourite for the post of head of the Office of Fair Access, Professor Les Ebdon. He does so in the face of stinging criticism of the appointment from many Tory MPs and the Commons Business Select Committee. Prof Ebdon has the reputation of taking a hard line towards those universities that do not take sufficient pains to take a sufficient proportion of students from deprived homes.

This row is in danger of becoming mired in Coalition politics, with the appointment becoming a trial of strength between Mr Cable and hardline Tories. But the issue is too important for that. We should be questioning the point of the Office of Fair Access. The patent truth about the under-representation of poorer candidates at the top universities is that promising pupils are let down by their schools, not by prejudice on the part of admissions tutors. The recent dismal showing of London state schools in the English baccalaureate, which measures their performance in academic subjects, proves as much. Scrapping the office would put the focus on university access where it belongs - with schools.

Lanes of privilege

Maria Eagle, the shadow transport secretary, suggests that ministers should be barred from using the special, speedy "zil" lanes at the Olympics. It would indeed be an excellent idea for them to use the Tube. Were anyone to offer Ms Eagle a place in an official limo to the Olympic Park, we are sure she would opt for the Jubilee line instead.