Ferdinand rested for Braga visit

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that the T-shirt row with Rio Ferdinand has been resolved.

The 33-year-old came under fire from his manager over the weekend for choosing not to wear a T-shirt supporting the ‘Kick It Out’ campaign without notifying his boss.

“The issue’s simple,” Ferguson said on Monday. “I’ve spoken to Rio. It was a communication issue. He felt I should have spoken to him on Friday and I didn’t anticipate that he’d have a problem wearing the shirt.

“My advice is to him that I always feel a union is stronger than an individual. It’s important he airs his grievances to the right people, the FA.

“It’s been a communication issue more than anything else. We’ve resolved the situation, there’s no lingering problems and we move on. That’s the end of the matter.”

Ferdinand will play no part in United’s Champions League clash against Braga on Tuesday but Ferguson insisted the reason for leaving the defender out of the squad is purely for tactical purposes.

“I’m not playing Rio. I’m making a few changes. I’m leaving out Rio and Patrice Evra. We have a big game against Chelsea (to think about on Sunday),” he said.

“We’ve got Ashley Young back and he’ll be involved tomorrow. We’ve got Nani, (Antonio) Valencia, (Ryan) Giggs … plenty of wide players. I have an issue in terms of picking the team. Hopefully I get it right.”

“Shinji Kagawa didn’t play on Saturday so he can prepare for tomorrow. Also, Stoke’s a different team to any other side he’s played. But mainly it was to give him a rest before tomorrow.”

United are looking to maintain their perfect record in the tournament so far after victories against Galatasaray and Cluj.