Manchester: Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has admitted that he is "gutted" to have been left out of England's Euro 2012 squad.
The 33-year-old centre-back, who has earned 81 caps for England since making his debut in 1997, was not included in Roy Hodgson's 23-man squad, but Chelsea captain and former England skipper John Terry was.
Terry is due to stand trial after the tournament over allegedly racially abusing Ferdinand's brother Anton while playing for the Blues against QPR earlier this season. Ferdinand tweeted: "Absolutely loved playing for England....to say I'm gutted is an understatement of the highest order"
Hodgson insisted that the decision to leave the United man out of his squad had nothing to do with Terry's upcoming trial.
He told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday: "It was a hard phone call to make. It was based purely on football and nothing else. He is a man I respect. I had to make a football decision on the basis of what I have seen in recent months."
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