England close to Rio strike: Neville

GARY NEVILLE has revealed the fall-out from the Rio Ferdinand affair still rankles with the England squad and that the players were closer than first thought to pulling out of the crucial Euro 2004 qualifier in Turkey.

The Manchester United right-back, as one of the senior players, was widely believed to be one of the ringleaders who led calls for a boycott of the game in Istanbul following Ferdinand's omission after it emerged he missed a drugs test.

Football Association officials played down the seriousness of the threat and England qualified for next summer's European Championships in Portugal after a 0-0 draw.