Rio Ferdinand pulls out of John Terry reunion at UNICEF game

Rio Ferdinand (left) and John Terry pictured during their England days

Rio Ferdinand will not play alongside John Terry at David Beckham's UNICEF charity match this weekend.

The former England team-mates were due to line up in a Great Britain and Ireland side against a Rest of the World XI at Old Trafford three years after Terry was banned by the Football Association for using abusive language towards Ferdinand's brother Anton.

The incident occurred during a Premier League game between QPR and Chelsea in October 2011 and led to a court case, where Terry was cleared by a magistrate of racial abuse.

Rio Ferdinand said in his autobiography that he found it "impossible to forgive or forget the pain he [Terry] put my family through", but both were last month named in a squad for the UNICEF game.

The latest squad list does not include Ferdinand, and an accompanying press release said: "Players who were originally scheduled to play including Rio Ferdinand, Andy Cole, Fabio Cannavaro, Alessandro Nesta and Massimo Ambrosini can no longer attend Saturday's match."

Ashley Cole, who gave evidence in support of Terry at his court case, remains part of the British and Irish squad.