Rio Ferdinand 'appalled' at treatment over England captaincy

Rio Ferdinand is said to be "appalled" by Fabio Capello's treatment of him regarding the England captaincy. Reports on Sunday suggested that the Manchester United defender was angry at the way the England manager had restored Chelsea's John Terry to the captaincy this week. The England manager was at Old Trafford on Saturday to watch Manchester United's 1-0 win against Bolton and he sat close to Ferdinand in the directors' box. The pair apparently did not speak. Capello has said that he arranged a meeting with Ferdinand at Old Trafford last week but the player declined to meet him. A source close to Ferdinand is reported in the News of the World as saying: "All Rio knows about the captaincy is what he has read in the papers and he is appalled by the lack of class, respect and good manners." Capello has confirmed that Terry will captain England in Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales in Cardiff and beyond and that he will explain the decision to the squad on Monday. "I tried to meet [Rio] at the Manchester United v Marseille game," Capello said, "but he preferred not to. I don't know. It is a question for him, not me. I hope I will meet him to speak privately, not by phone because I think by phone is not so good." Sources close to Ferdinand denied there had been arrangements for a formal meeting, saying that a phone call on Monday from the England general manager, Franco Baldini, was the only contact he had received, in which Baldini merely said "see you at the game".