Published: 03rd June 2012
RIO FERDINAND’S representative has accused Roy Hodgson and the FA of disrespecting the Manchester United defender by not calling him up to the England squad.
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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 Euro 2012 squad, having already used his standby defender, Phil Jagielka, to replace Gareth Barry last week.
Ferdinand, 33, would have been the obvious choice given his vast experience, a commodity which England have lost so much of following the injuries to Barry and fellow central midfielder Frank Lampard in the past week.
Instead Hodgson has gone for Liverpool youngster Martin Kelly, who made his international debut as a substitute in the final two minutes of the win in Norway on May 26.
It appears the Ferdinand camp feel there is more to today’s decision than simply “footballing reasons”, the grounds Hodgson gave for leaving the Manchester United man out of his initial squad.
Ferdinand’s representative and long-standing friend 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.”
Ferdinand reacted angrily on Twitter to the “footballing reasons” statement, writing: “What reasons?????!!!”
Meanwhile, Belgian winger Dries Mertens, who caused Cahill to break his jaw by shoving the Chelsea defender into goalkeeper Joe Hart, has apologised.
The PSV Eindhoven forward wrote: “I sincerely apologize for the harm I’ve cost to Cahill. When in the heat of the moment, you often don’t think about the consequences.
“My thoughts go out to him and I hope he recovers well!”
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