Inappropriate for Ferdinand to play - FA
The Football Association today insisted it would be “inappropriate” to select Rio Ferdinand for England’s crucial Euro 2004 qualifier against Turkey because of the player’s failure to take a drugs test last month.
Ferdinand missed the test, which was scheduled to take place after training at Manchester United’s Carrington base on September 23, claiming later that he had forgotten because he was moving house.
The centre-back eventually took and passed a test 36 hours later, but the FA’s rules dictate that refusing or failing to take a test is a technical breach of the sport’s strict anti-drugs code.
Indeed, if proved, it carries a maximum penalty of a two-year ban from the game.
Ferdinand, who has not been charged with any offence, is already set to be interviewed by the FA about the matter next Monday.
FA director of marketing and communications Paul Barber insisted the decision to leave him out of the squad was not a case of the FA “making judgement on Ferdinand’s England career”, nor were they “prejudging the outcome” of Monday’s talks.
But the £30million England defender was nevertheless left out of the 23-man squad named by Sven-Goran Eriksson today, with John Terry now expected to partner Sol Campbell in Istanbul.
Barber insisted the FA would not be making any further comment on the matter at this point.
