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Rio Ferdinand fumes over star pundit's absence from BBC's Lionesses coverage for Euros final - despite her having 172 caps for England!

Rio Ferdinand fumes over star pundit's absence from BBC's Lionesses coverage for Euros final - despite her having 172 caps for England!

Daily Mail​2 hours ago
Rio Ferdinand has hit out at the BBC for omitting Fara Williams from their coverage of the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 final – despite the former England midfielder being the country's most capped player.
Williams, who earned 172 caps during a glittering international career, has been a regular and respected voice on the BBC's football output in recent years.
But she was nowhere to be seen in the corporation's broadcast team for Sunday's final in Basel, with host Gabby Logan joined instead by Steph Houghton, Ellen White and Nedum Onuoha.
Ferdinand, who recently stepped away from his own punditry role at TNT Sports, appeared stunned by the snub.
'How's @fara_williams47 not on the @BBCSport coverage' the ex-England defender tweeted just after 4pm, under an hour before kick-off at St Jakob-Park.
Williams, 41, had earlier confirmed a new chapter in her punditry career, revealing on Saturday that she will join the TNT Sports team for the new season.
Quoting a video promoting the broadcaster's extensive football rights — including for the Premier League, Champions League and Women's FA Cup — she wrote on X (formerly Twitter): 'This is NOT NORMAL', before adding: 'Can't wait to be part of the @footballontnt team!'
It's a high-profile move for the former Lioness, who featured at four major tournaments and scored 40 goals for her country.
She retired from playing in 2019 and has since established herself as one of the most insightful and eloquent voices in the game.
Ferdinand himself ended his decade-long stint with TNT Sports after May's Champions League final.
The Manchester United legend signed off with a warm on-air farewell and said he would now focus on his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast and other ventures, including his charitable foundation.
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