No place on the plane: Ferdinand (right) is staying at home this summer

The FA remain undecided about organising a press conference for Hodgson to respond to the criticism. His first scheduled press conference is on Sunday in Donetsk, ahead of the France game on Monday.

Harry Redknapp, for some time considered the favourite to succeed Fabio Capello as England manager, suggested Ferdinand’s omission must have been down to more than football reasons. 'There’s obviously more to it,' said the Tottenham manager. 'If it’s just football, it’s difficult to leave Rio out.'

Robbie Fowler, a former team-mate of Ferdinand at Leeds, said: 'There’s not a chance Rio Ferdinand was left out of the England squad for “footballing reasons”.'

Holland’s Wesley Sneijder called Ferdinand’s omission a 'big surprise' and his compatriot Rafael van der Vaart branded the decision 'strange'.

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