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Owen ruled out of Turkey qualifier
LONDON, England -- Michael Owen will not be fit enough to play for England in the Euro 2004 qualifier in Turkey and will not travel with the squad to Istanbul. Owen suffered a shin injury in the 2-1 home defeat by Arsenal last weekend and FA spokesman Adrian Bevington announced that the striker's fitness fight had failed. "Michael Owen will not be travelling with the team to Turkey on Thursday afternoon," Bevington announced. "After receiving treatment from our medical staff, who have been in consultation with the medical team at Liverpool, over the past three days, it was felt that despite Michael making excellent progress, he would not be fit for Saturday's game." Owen left the team hotel on Thursday morning and prepared to return to Anfield for further treatment. Team manager Sven-Goran Eriksson had already brought Aston Villa striker Darius Vassell into the squad as a precaution. Eriksson had already been deprived of the services of Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, omitted after failing to turn up for a routine drug test. The circumstances leading to Ferdinand's absence had upset the other members of the squad so much that they had discussed a possible boycott of the crucial qualifying game. The players issued a statement saying that they and their coach felt badly let down by the Football Association's handling of the matter. There was, however, no sympathy for the disgruntled players from FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who said he was disappointed with their strike threats. "I have said it before and I will repeat it -- there is not any longer enough discipline or respect in our game," he told BBC radio. The English players' union chief Gordon Taylor said: "We need to get some proportion. Rio Ferdinand has never even tested positive. "Of course he should have been there to have taken the test but he has been assumed to be guilty. "There is just a pre-judged determination of guilt and we live in a world now where they are guilty until proven innocent."
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