RIO FERDINAND’S representatives have accused the Football Association and England manager Roy Hodgson of treating the defender with “a total lack of respect” after the Manchester United defender suffered another Euro 2012 snub.
The FA confirmed earlier today that Gary Cahill had been ruled out of the tournament after fracturing his jaw in two places during yesterday’s friendly win over Belgium at Wembley. It meant Hodgson had another space to fill in his squad, having already used his standby defender, Phil Jagielka, to replace Gareth Barry last week.
But while under different circumstances Ferdinand, 33 and a former England captain, might have represented the obvious choice given his wealth of international experience, Hodgson instead opted for Liverpool youngster Martin Kelly, who made his debut for the national side as a substitute in the final two minutes of England’s win in Norway on May 26.
Hodgson faced a barrage of questions when naming his squad on May 16 about whether he had snubbed Ferdinand because of concerns the centre-back would not be able to get along with John Terry, in light of the Chelsea player’s impending court case for alleged racist remarks to Ferdinand’s brother Anton in October. Terry denies the charge against him.
It appears the Ferdinand camp feels there is more to today's decision than simply the “footballing reasons” offered by way of explanation by Hodgson for leaving out the Manchester United man.
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Ferdinand’s representative Jamie Moralee said: “Lampard, Terry, Barry, Gerrard; all ageing but they go to the tournament. Why is Rio different? To treat a player that has captained and served his country 81 times [in this manner] is nothing short of disgraceful. Total lack of respect from Hodgson and the FA as far as I am concerned.”
Earlier this afternoon Ferdinand said on Twitter: “What reasons?????!!!”, indicating a sense of disenchantment as the defender tries to comprehend Hodgson's decision.
Hodgson has expressed his disappointment at losing the equivalent of 143 caps’ worth of experience when Frank Lampard and Barry were ruled out of the Euros through injury. However he has opted to select Kelly, who made just 12 Premier League appearances for Liverpool last term, rather than Ferdinand, who made 38 appearances and started United’s last 16 Premier League games.
After Jordan Henderson's call-up last week, Kelly’s inclusion means England will leave for Poland and Ukraine with more than a quarter of their squad consisting of Liverpool players, including captain Steven Gerrard. Liverpool won the Carling Cup and reached the FA Cup final but finished eighth in the Premier League, leading to the dismissal of manager Kenny Dalglish at the end of the season.