England coach Eriksson criticises FA bosses

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has criticised his Football Association (FA) employers over the length of time it is taking to settle the Rio Ferdinand misconduct charge.

Manchester United central defender Ferdinand was last month charged by the FA over his "failure or refusal" to take a drugs test in September.

"It's crazy that Rio Ferdinand, after eight weeks, does not yet know if he's guilty or not guilty, or if he's going to be fined or suspended for one month or whatever," Eriksson told British newspapers on Tuesday.

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"But

he has already been banned by the FA for eight weeks as far as England are concerned. The process takes far too long and I don't think it's fair.

"I also don't understand, or agree with, the system for selecting players in those circumstances," added the England coach.

Eriksson was unable to play Ferdinand in England's final Euro 2004 qualifying game against Turkey in October.

He also had to discard Alan Smith from his squad for the 3-2 friendly defeat by Denmark on Sunday after the Leeds United striker was arrested over an alleged bottle-throwing incident in a League Cup match against Manchester United last month.

Source: REUTERS
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