ohn Terry faces being banned from playing for England if he goes through with his bid to return to the national team.
FA sources have told The Mail on Sunday that any attempt by the Chelsea captain to make himself available for England selection will be met by action under the players' code of conduct.
Terry, 32, retired from England duty after the Football Association charged him with racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand - the brother of Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand - during a game in October 2011.
Ban? Chelsea captain John Terry could face retrospective action from the Football Association
Terry was angry that the FA pursued action against him despite the fact that he was cleared of a criminal offence over the incident. He announced his retirement from international football four days before the FA delivered a guilty verdict against him and imposed a four-match ban.
At the time, Terry said: 'I feel the FA, in pursuing charges against me where I have already been cleared in a court of law, have made my position with the national team untenable.'
Reports on Saturday, however, confirmed that Terry now believed his retirement was a mistake and that he wished to play for England again, a move that may have been prompted by the lack of experienced central defensive options open to England manager Roy Hodgson.
FA sources say England staff were already aware of Terry's desire to add to his 78 caps but if Hodgson wanted to select him again, the manager would first need to take advice from the FA's Club England board.
The FA are in the process of revamping their stance on racial abuse and now have a code of conduct for England players, under which any player guilty of such an offence will be barred from playing for the national team.
Terry's offence was committed before the new code came into effect, but the FA are understood to be prepared to fight for the right to impose retrospective punishment.
With the FA keener than ever to be seen to be combating racism, it is inconceivable that they would not cite the new code in dealing with any effort by Terry to make an England comeback.
Divisive: Terry was banned by the FA for racially abusing Rio Ferdinand's (centre) brother, Anton
Skipper: Terry captained England as well as his club in the past but may not return to the international fold
The Club England and FA boards showed their willingness to apply additional sanctions by stripping Terry of the captaincy after he was originally charged by the Crown Prosecution Service with a racially aggravated public order offence.
With Rio Ferdinand once again being considered for the end-of-season friendlies against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil, any attempt by Terry to resurrect his international career would threaten to revive the animosity known to exist between the two men.
Dilemma: England manager Roy Hodgson is in need of cover in the centre back area
U-Turn: Terry was angry with the FA after being cleared of racially abusing Ferdinand in a criminal case