Rio Ferdinand was also in hot water for a drinking session while on England duty (Image: Vibe with Five/YouTube)
Frank Lampard was given the boot off an England team coach in a comical incident after a sneaky boozing session was exposed. Former Three Lions team-mate Rio Ferdinand has recounted this hilarious tale from their time with the Under-21s set-up.
After a match in Italy, the players decided to avail themselves of some downtime at a local bar, even though they were supposed to be watching the senior team play later that evening. However, when their drinking session was discovered, most of them were sent packing to the airport, missing the senior team game.
Some tried stealthily to slip away, including Lampard, who nearly succeeded in hiding his misdemeanour. Ferdinand divulged on his Vibe with Five podcast: "There was me, Frank Lampard, Kieran Dyer, Danny Murphy, Jamie Carragher, Ben Thatcher and others.
"I think we won the game and the following day we were allowed to go out into the town or village where we were, before going to watch the first team in the evening. It was a hot day and I'm thinking of going shopping maybe, then I see a bar in my sights. I see a couple of people in England training tops.
"Who do I find? Why, it's Danny Murphy, Carra, Ben Thatcher, the ring leader. Then me and Frank thought 'let's join in'. One beer, two beers quickly escalated to eight, nine, 10 beers.
"Then the manager, Peter Taylor, strolls into the bar and we've all got drinks. I tried to sneak off and Frank got away. I got pulled and he [Taylor] said, go back to your rooms, get your passports. You're going home early, you're not going to watch the seniors play'. I was like, 'I just got here' and he said, 'don't lie'."
Frank Lampard was snitched on by an England team-mate and was sent to the airport early as a result (Image: Clive Rose/Getty Images)
However, Lampard eventually received the same punishment as his fellow drinkers. Ferdinand explained: "I got back to my hotel and got my passport. Frank was on the coach [to go to the game] and Ben Thatcher, who's smashed, says, 'I can't believe Frank's got away with it' and the manager heard.
"Frank got pulled up as well and we were all in the airport. Glenn Hoddle got on the plane on the way home, walked past me and gave one of those looks that said, 'I'm disappointed in you, son'. It's the worst feeling but he ended up picking me for the senior squad."
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