FA stance on Ferdinand wrong - Brooking
The Football Association’s director of football development Trevor Brooking admits Rio Ferdinand should not have been in a situation where he was banned from England duty but could play on with Manchester United.
Ferdinand was kept out of international action by the Football Association after missing a drugs test in September, an offence which later earned him an eight-month ban.
But while England was out of the question in the run-up to his disciplinary hearing, United boss Alex Ferguson was free to pick Ferdinand for domestic action, a situation FIFA president Sepp Blatter criticised.
Now Brooking has admitted the FA should not have allowed that situation to occur.
He told BBC1’s ‘Breakfast with Frost’ programme: “I think from the England point of view the FA took the stance that it would look as if we were using the opportunity to play him in Turkey and then he was going to be banned for England.
“You had the situation certainly where it’s not right that he is playing for his club and not being able to play for England.
“Because you could say Rio’s been banned for two months already by England but he’s still playing for Manchester United.”
