Hodgson relieved as Cole says sorry to FA over rant

Hodgson is relieved Cole has made peace with Football Association chairman David Bernstein after his Twitter outburst against football’s governing body in this country, whom he described as “a bunch of t****”.

Cole has been charged with misconduct and has until tomorrow to respond to the charge.

But that controversy seemed a million miles away when Prince William shook hands and appeared to share a joke with Cole at the £105m centre in rural Staffordshire yesterday.

Cole had helped to smooth the troubled waters after his abuse following the Independent Regulatory Commission (IRC) being critical of his reliability as a witness in the John Terry racial abuse case.

His personal apology to Football Association chairman David Bernstein has been accepted after the England squad met up to prepare for Friday’s World Cup qualifier with San Marino at Wembley.

That in turn has prevented a relieved Hodgson facing a selection dilemma over whether to select Cole, who is two caps away from being the sixth Englishman to reach the 100 mark.

When asked about whether Cole will be available to face San Marino, Hodgson said: “It’s great to have a lot of players competing for places who have done well when they’ve had their chance.

“More important is the chairman has gracefully accepted the apology from Ashley. I know how disappointed and saddened he is with the situation.

“I’m quite relieved as an England manager that this matter has been completely resolved.”

Hodgson added: “Was Cole’s place in jeopardy? The important thing for me was the matter got resolved between the FA and Ashley, the man who made the mistake.

“He’s made it very clear he regrets it. He did it in anger. He immediately tried to rectify his mistake, apologised publicly.”

Bernstein said: “He apologised immediately on Friday and he came to see me last night and apologised to me personally.

“He showed real contrition. He said he was really sorry.

“He is free to play for England over the coming matches. It is up to the manager to decide whether he plays or not.”