On the day of his 100th cap, Cole is SNUBBED in favour of rival Baines on front cover of England programme



Where's Ashley? The front cover of tonight's matchday programme has one glaring omission

Ashley Cole was delivered an embarrassing snub ahead of his 100th England appearance after being omitted from the front cover of tonight's matchday programme.

England manager Roy Hodgson, captain Steven Gerrard and Cole's understudy, Leighton Baines, were instead used for the programme ahead of the glamour friendly against Brazil.

Cole was slapped with a £90,000 fine by the Football Association over a Twitter comment in which he referred to the organisation as a 'bunch of t****'. Cole made the remark after the FA accused him of lying in the John Terry racism case. He later issued an 'unreserved' apology for his actions.



The snub will come as a blow to Cole, who is set to become only England's seventh player to win a century of caps for his country.

The Chelsea defender will become the seventh Englishman to reach the landmark figure following in the footsteps of Peter Shilton, Sir Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, Billy Wright, David Beckham and most recently Steven Gerrard.

To mark the occasion Cole will be wearing a pair of personalised boots which have been embroidered with St George’s cross, AC 3 [his initials and shirt number], ‘England v Brazil’ and ‘100th Cap’; all messages designed to celebrate his achievement.

Centurion: Cole is set to win his 100th England cap against Brazil at Wembley tonight

The special Nike boots were presented to the 32-year-old defender yesterday at St George’s Park in a presentation box.

Speaking ahead of tonight’s game at Wembley, Cole said: ‘I am proud to play for England.

Revealed: The Chelsea defender has had special embroidered boots made for his big day



‘From being a little boy from the East End, you would never think you’d get a chance to represent your country.

‘I’m proud, privileged and overwhelmed by how many times I have played. I never expected to play for England. To play for the 100th time is amazing. I hope it doesn’t stop here.’