After England suffered another injury blow courtesy Gary Cahill's broken jaw; everyone was expecting Rio Ferdinand to replace him. But FA and England coach Roy Hodgson preferred Liverpool's not so experienced Martin Kelly over Rio Ferdinand ahead of Euro 2012.
Martin Kelly made his debut in Oslo nine days ago as a substitute two minutes from time in the 1-0 victory against Norway.
Manchester United's defender Rio Ferdinand, would have been the apparent choice given his vast experience, a service which England have lost so much of following the injuries to Barry and fellow central midfielder Frank Lampard in the past week.
Martin Kelly made his debut in Oslo nine days ago as a substitute two minutes from time in the 1-0 victory against Norway.
Manchester United's defender Rio Ferdinand, would have been the apparent choice given his vast experience, a service which England have lost so much of following the injuries to Barry and fellow central midfielder Frank Lampard in the past week.
Ferdinand expresses his anger through Twitter by saying "What reasons?????!!!" The decision has left the Ferdinand camp fuming, with the player's representative and friend Jamie Moralee declaring it 'disgraceful'.
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."
In the interim, Belgian winger Dries Mertens, who made Cahill to break his jaw by jostling the Chelsea defender into goalkeeper Joe Hart, has apologized saying
"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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