Capello defends Rio
Fabio Capello: 'proud of my team'
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By Darren Estwick. |  |
Sunday, 11, Oct 2009 12:07
By James Christie
England manager Fabio Capello has given his backing to Rio Ferdinand after the Manchester United defender attracted criticism for his defending during the 1-0 defeat against Ukraine.
Ferdinand allowed Artim Milevskiy to get on the end of a long Ukraine clearance and could only watch as last line of defence Robert Green tripped up the striker to concede a penalty.
Goalkeeper Green was sent off but Capello said: "He made one mistake, that is all, and that was for the penalty. The only other one was for the goal."
Capello was more concerned about the referee's performance and revealed that Ferdinand was almost red-carded after Milevskiy was brought down despite making no contact with the player.
The England boss said: "The referee thought Rio had fouled the player but it so obviously was not him."
Putting aside his frustration over the incident Capello expressed pride in his team's second half performance and satisfaction that "we created a lot of chances, right until the very last minute".
England, who are assured of a place in next summer's World Cup, had a 100 per cent record in their qualifying campaign before last night's defeat.