Fun in the sun: Ferdinand took a holiday instead of joining up with the England squad

But his refusal to go into detail about those reasons fuelled speculation Ferdinand was actually overlooked due to the potential for disharmony between the Manchester United defender and John Terry.

Terry is due to stand trial on July 9 charged with racially abusing Ferdinand's younger brother Anton, something the Chelsea captain denies.

Hodgson was adamant that had no bearing on his decision but when he ignored Ferdinand again after calling up rookie defender Kelly for the injured Gary Cahill, the conspiracy theory really took hold.

Ferdinand himself tweeted, 'What reasons?????!!!', while his friend and agent Jamie Moralee branded the decision 'disrespectful'.

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