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Ferdinand's representative hits out at Hodgson

The prospect of Rio Ferdinand joining John Terry in the England squad for Euro 2012 appear slim © PA Photos

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The agent of Rio Ferdinand has accused England coach Roy Hodgson and the Football Association of "a total lack of respect" after Martin Kelly was brought into the squad.

Ferdinand had already missed out on the initial 23-man squad but the broken jaw Gary Cahill suffered against Belgium at Wembley seemingly opened the door for a central defender to come in. But Hodgson has drafted in Liverpool's rookie left-back Kelly with Phil Jagielka, who last week replaced Gareth Barry, considered the cover in the centre of defence.

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 [Roy] Hodgson and the FA as far as I am concerned."

Kelly made just 12 Premier League appearances for Liverpool last season.

After it was reported on Sunday that Ferdinand had been left out for "footballing reasons", Ferdinand had tweeted: "What reasons?????!!!"

Former England and Manchester United striker Andy Cole also said he "wouldn't be surprised" if factors other than form were involved in Ferdinand's exclusion. "If there were footballing reasons for Rio not going I would love to know what they were," he told the Daily Mirror.

"At the end of the season Rio was fantastic. Centre halfs, especially in their thirties, are going to pick up a few niggles but I think Rio played 30-odd games and played extremely well. And then you turn around and talk about 'footballing reasons'.

"He has been the best footballing centre half for many years so I want to know what those footballing reasons were. He is disappointed, naturally. He was looking forward to playing again for England having only lost the captaincy last year. It is very harsh."

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