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World Cup: Andros Townsend insists Roy Hodgson's joke was meant as a compliment

Image: Andros Townsend: Feels England's win has been overshadowed

Andros Townsend has attempted to end the controversy about Roy Hodgson's joke by suggesting he was trying to pay him 'a compliment'.

The FA was quick to give Hodgson its full backing, while Hodgson believes the incident has put a significant spoiler on England's achievements in the past few days, telling the Daily Mail: "Joy is short-lived in this job. The players are as angry about this as I am. "We have just had a successful period and, although I wouldn't suggest we intend to rest on our laurels, I think we have earned the right to enjoy the fruits of our labours. Instead we get this. "You would have to go a long way to find somebody who is less racist than me. "I have coached almost everywhere in the last 37 years, worked with all kinds of people, so this intimation of racism - you can hardly call it a story - is so saddening. "I admit some of the younger players may not have understood the reference to the monkey in space. "They may not have heard the expression before but that's a generational thing. I meant "give the ball to the player who can make things happen". There was no other connotation and no offence was taken by any of the players." Striker Wayne Rooney described the accusations of racism against Hodgson as "absolutely ridiculous", following up a Twitter defence of his manager with a statement on his website. The Manchester United striker said: "To be honest, it's really annoying that something such as this should see the light of day. "All the lads know what type of guy Roy is, and to try and pin some form of label on him is absolutely ridiculous. "Roy spoke to Andros straight away, who took no offence whatsoever. Hopefully that's now the end of the matter."

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