Rio Ferdinand to Travel to Qatar for England TV Gig Despite Pulling Out of Squad: The Daily EPL

Despite Rio “in again, out again” Ferdinand pulling himself out of the England squad for the two key World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro due to fitness concerns, the Manchester United defender has decided to take a lucrative TV deal to commentate tomorrow’s England match. Problem is that the TV studio is in Qatar, which means he’ll be taking a 15-hour round trip flight even though he has a back problem.

This is yet another silly decision by Ferdinand in a long history of inane moves. The backlash against Ferdinand has already been felt today in the media and social media. It’s a hypocritical decision by Ferdinand to say that he can’t adapt to England’s fitness and medical program, but then decides to take a TV gig in the land of luxury.

Ferdinand has already jumped on Twitter to defend himself saying that he already had some pre-planned downtime, and that it’s no different than what he did on his last international break. The big difference here is that on the last international break, he wasn’t called up for England. This time he was until he (or Ferguson) decided to pull him out.

The timing couldn’t be worse for Ferdinand. Perhaps this is the last straw for his England international career? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Here are today’s Premier League news headlines:

• Rio Ferdinand to travel to Doha to be on TV for England game despite pulling out of squad — The Mail
• Rio Ferdinand has defended his trip to Qatar despite a back problem — Sky Sports
• England’s game in Montenegro avoids UK TV blackout as ITV agree fresh rights deal — Telegraph
• Norwich have reportedly agreed a deal to sign Ricky van Wolfswinkel from this summer — Sky Sports
• Aston Villa announce partnership with US-based soccer club — Aston Villa FC
• Richard Scudamore believes the FA were wrong not to punish Callum McManaman — Sky Sports
• Paul Gascoigne: boredom drove me back to drink — The Guardian
• Chelsea’s Europa League match with Rubin Kazan moved to the Luzhniki Stadium — Sky Sports
• Managing director Ian Ayre convinced Luis Suarez will stay at Liverpool this summer — Liverpool FC
• Reading announce summer deals with Icelandic talent — Premier League
• Swansea City end 32Red sponsorship deal a year early — This Is South Wales
• Platini fires back over Blatter’s Euro 2020 criticism — Sport Business
• Craig Gardner insists Martin O’Neill remains the best man to manage Sunderland — Sky Sports
• Norwich City’s Chris Martin on loan for rest of season — This Is Derbyshire
• Tottenham Hotspur’s Clint Dempsey named U.S. captain — New York Times

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