Hodgson relieved by Cole apology

England boss Roy Hodgson has expressed his relief that Ashley Cole personally apologised to Football Association chairman David Bernstein for his offensive Twitter message.

Cole was charged with misconduct by the FA over his outburst on Friday, when he referred to the governing body as a "bunch of t****'' in response to the independent regulatory commission's damning judgement on his evidence in the John Terry racial abuse verdict.

Bernstein revealed on Tuesday morning that Cole had apologised to him - and the chairman also stressed that it was down to Hodgson to decide whether the Chelsea full-back plays against San Marino in Friday's World Cup qualifier.

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