Bernstein ducks Ferdinand questions

Football Association chairman David Bernstein has refused to discuss the absence of Rio Ferdinand, claiming England did not want to get sidetracked by "historical extraneous issues".

Ferdinand's absence from the 23-man squad that flew into Krakow has been a major talking point since manager Roy Hodgson chose to replace injured defender Gary Cahill with Liverpool youngster Martin Kelly on Monday.

Hodgson is yet to speak on the matter and is not set to talk to the media until the weekend. Bernstein, however, rebuffed repeated questions and seemed to sweep Ferdinand's 81-cap career away. He said: "We're here to talk about the tournament, about the 23 players who are here and I'm not prepared to discuss - at all - any players who are not here."

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