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04th Jun 2012

Rio Ferdinand and his people are understandably miffed at his latest England snub

Roy Hodgson’s decision to again overlook Rio Ferdinand for the England squad produced a baffled reaction, not least from the player and his representatives.

Conor Heneghan

Roy Hodgson’s decision to again overlook Rio Ferdinand for the England squad produced a baffled reaction, not least from the player and his representatives.

The Manchester United defender was snubbed following the forced withdrawal of Gary Cahill through injury yesterday, with Liverpool defender Martin Kelly being called into the squad instead.

Ferdinand’s experience and proven ability made him seem like the ideal choice to replace Cahill, but Hodgson’s decision to ignore him seem to undermine the claims that his initial absence was for “football reasons” and give truth to the suggestion that the presence of John Terry in the squad – who has been accused of racially abusing Rio’s brother Anton – is the main reason he is being left out.

Ferdinand made his own feelings known on the matter yesterday with the following tweet, and it wouldn’t take a detective to identify that he also believes that his absence from the squad is due to the possibility of disharmony in a squad containing both himself and John Terry.

Ferdinand’s representative Jamie Moralee was more vociferous in his criticism of England manager Roy Hodgson and the FA, saying: “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. [A] total lack of respect from Hodgson and the FA as far as I am concerned.”

As a result, Kelly, who has only two minutes of international experience, has been preferred to an 81-cap veteran who appeared to put doubts about his fitness behind him with a regular run in the Manchester United side last season.

Conspiracy theorists have suggested that by taking Kelly, the sixth Liverpool player in the England squad, that Hodgson is trying to rebuild bridges burned by his disappointing recent spell at Anfield, but maybe he knows exactly what he’s doing.

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