Capello distances himself from England ratings

England coach Fabio Capello on Saturday demanded that his controversial ‘Capello Index’, which rates the performances of players at the World Cup, be removed from the Internet.

“I did not authorise this and am angry the index was published,” Capello said in a statement released to the Press Association.

The rankings were published earlier on Saturday and included marks awarded to England’s players for their performances in South Africa, where they were knocked out in the last 16 after a humbling 4-1 loss to Germany.

Goalkeeper Robert Green was dropped after his blunder gifted the opening goal to the United States in England’s 1-1 draw with their Group C rivals and the West Ham man received Capello’s lowest rating of 51.57.

The index uses a statistical system devised by Capello to award players a score out of 100.

Underperforming stars such as Wayne Rooney (58.87), Joe Cole (55.45) and Gareth Barry (57.50) fared similarly badly, with striker Jermain Defoe the top-ranked England player on 62.47.

Uruguay striker Diego Forlan, who won the Golden Ball award for the tournament’s best player, was the top-ranked player with a mark of 65.77.

Capello called for the index to be removed after saying he had not seen or approved of the rankings.

“The index was published without Mr Capello’s knowledge and his representatives have taken immediate steps to have the material taken down,” read a Football Association statement.

Capello had intended to publish his rankings during the World Cup but was persuaded not to do so following talks with the FA.