World Cup 2010: Fabio Capello's WAG veto applauded by 1966 heroes

Fabio Capello’s decision to ban wives and girlfriends in South Africa has been applauded by the men who won the World Cup in 1966. Both Martin Peters and Sir Geoff Hurst believe that Capello is in the same mold as Sir Alf Ramsey.

Stop there: Fabio Capello has banned WAGs from accompanying England's squad to Suoth Africa

Peters, 66, revealed a fascinating story about Ramsey's attitude to WAGs of yesterday year, when he said: “After the 1970 World Cup in Mexico we were playing in Malta in the European Championship, and myself, Geoff, Bobby Moore and Peter Bonetti did a deal with a travel company to take our wives.

“But they booked them into the same hotel as the players, which was a mistake. One morning my wife Kathy and Geoff's wife Judith came downstairs to find Sir Alf in the lobby.

“He said, 'Hello girls, if you are going to stay in the same hotel as the players, I will never pick them to play for England again.' Thankfully we won 1-0 and I scored.”

And Hurst, 68, added: “There was another game before that, in the build-up to Mexico 1970, a friendly game in Europe, where my wife was with me and she bumped into Alf in the lift.

“He physically prodded my wife in the chest and said, 'We're not going to Mexico for your benefit - we're going to win the pot' - and he was poking her in the chest as he said it, adding that he didn't want to see her in the same hotel as the players.

Capello has already shown how tough he can be, stripping John Terry of the England captaincy following allegations with the ex-girlfriend of team-mate Wayne Bridge.

Hurst added: “Capello showed his no-nonsense approach in the way he dealt with Terry - quick, decisive, gone in 12 minutes, move on. And it was the same with Sir Alf Ramsey. Capello is right to keep the WAGs at arm's length -- preferably on the next planet.”