Evra 'surprised' By Rio Snub Defender Feels Utd team-mate's England Omission Is Good For France

Patrice Evra admits he is 'really surprised' that Rio Ferdinand has been left out of the England squad for Euro 2012 and believes the decision is 'good' for France.

Ferdinand was not included in Roy Hodgson's original 23-man squad for the tournament which was named last month after being overlooked for 'footballing reasons'.
The subsequent withdrawals of several players, most notably Gary Cahill, have not led to a late call-up for Ferdinand, with Martin Kelly taking the place of the Chelsea defender.
The Manchester United centre-half's omission prompted Ferdinand's representatives to accuse the Football Association and Hodgson of treating him with a 'total lack of respect'.
Evra is unsure why his United team-mate is not involved with England and intends to contact Ferdinand to find out how he is feeling.

"Maybe Rio has every reason to feel disappointed. Maybe the manager has good reasons but it's good for France that he is not playing."
Patrice Evra Quotes of the week

However, with France facing England in their opening game of Euro 2012 in Donetsk on Monday, the left-back is happy that Ferdinand will not be in Ukraine.

Disappointed

"I am really surprised Rio isn't playing," Evra told The Sun. "He's a big, strong player and I just don't know what is happening.
"Maybe Rio has every reason to feel disappointed. Maybe the manager has good reasons but it's good for France that he is not playing.
"I'm really disappointed for him because he is a good player. I will text him in the next few days to see how he is feeling."
Meanwhile, Evra believes that Hodgson, who was only appointed England coach just over a month ago, could have a similar impact to the one Roberto Di Matteo enjoyed with Chelsea.
He added: "I respect every player in that England squad. A lot of people say that maybe the new manager doesn't know the players well enough but take the example of Roberto Di Matteo at Chelsea.
"He came in and won the Champions League. England have not won anything for a long time but they will be ready and will fight hard. I don't really look at the players missing and injured because they will be replaced by very good players."