Capello has come under fire for his failure to speak to Rio Ferdinand after deciding to reinstall John Terry as captain, but he insists he will never telephone his players.

“My way of working is very simple,” Capello said in The Sun. “We have the good fortune to work only a few hours a day, therefore in the little time we have for working, you have to do it well.

“And after work we’re free to have fun and do what we want. I never telephone my players. Never.

“If a player is injured, I don’t call him but I will call the doctor. A manager is not a big brother, I have better things to do than put my nose into my players’ business.”

Capello admits the English media have made his job difficult but is happy to let his players have a free rein.

“You have players who behave well and others who behave less well,” he said. “The problem here is particularly that photographers know where the players go, so the next day you find it on front pages of papers or YouTube.

“You just have to be careful. I say to my players, have fun, but be careful about the people around you and in particular beware of mobile phones.”

There was an outcry before Spain’s 3-1 win over the state of the field, but the surface in Kaunas was defended by European football’s governing body, much to the anger of Casillas.

“We’ve got three points on a pitch which was impossible to play on. The pitch was a disaster,” Casillas was quoted as saying by Marca. “I think that sometimes we have to catch UEFA’s attention, because this is lamentable. We go and play where they tell us to, but these football pitches don’t help anyone to play this sport. It isn’t only this one.

“UEFA has to come out and look at them and worry much more about pitches like this. They need to do much more and not stay in their seats behind a desk telling us we have to wear pants and the same coloured socks. What they have to do is make sure the installations are in a condition to play football.”

UEFA responded to the comments, maintaining that it was up to the referee and the home association to decide whether the pitch was fit to play on.

“If the host association finds a match cannot take place, for example because the field is not fit for play or because of the weather, it must notify the visiting association and the referee before their departure from home and the UEFA administration at the same time,” said UEFA in a statement.

“In this case the match must be played on another date as agreed by the host association and the visiting association, subject to the approval of the UEFA administration.

“In the specific case of Tuesday night’s match the referee decided after assessing the situation the pitch was fit for the game to go ahead.”

FIFA and UEFA previously ordered the NSBiH to cut their three-member presidency to one or face sanctions.

But a general assembly meeting in Sarajevo earlier this week failed to find a resolution with the NSBiH opting to continue with their current structure of three leaders to satisfy the country’s political make-up.

The federation currently consists of two associations: one a Bosnian Serb and another shared by Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats, headed by a Bosniak, a Croat and a Serb to reflect the country’s ethnic division after the 1992-1995 war.

The ruling by FIFA and UEFA means NSBiH representative and club teams are no longer entitled to take part in international competitions as of today and until the matter is resolved.

A joint statement by FIFA and UEFA added: ”FIFA and UEFA deeply regret that this decision had to be taken and will meet shortly to discuss the next steps required to try to bring the NSBiH back into the football family as soon as possible.”

Bosnia and Herzegovina are currently fourth in Group D of Euro 2012 qualifying but, as it stands, will not be able to fulfil their next fixture against Romania on June 3.

Wayne Rooney was a TV star once more – this time for all the right reasons as his clinical first-half goal gave Manchester United a 1-0 Champions League triumph over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Rooney went into the quarter-final first-leg tie still not knowing what his punishment will be for the four-letter outburst at West Ham on Saturday.

But the uncertainty didn’t affect him as he took full advantage of a superb piece of skill by Ryan Giggs to give United their first win at Stamford Bridge in 2002 and put them in pole position to reach the semi-final at Old Trafford next week.

Chelsea are not out of it. Indeed, a repeat of the 2-1 success on their last trip to Old Trafford 12 months ago will be enough to send through.

However, they will have to do far better in front of goal – and £50 million man Fernando Torres in particular must start scoring after yet another ineffective display ended with an injury-time yellow card for diving.

At Upton Park on Saturday, Rooney completed his hat-trick, then headed straight towards a TV camera to deliver his ill-advised reaction that threatens his place in the FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City.

As his first-time effort caressed the base of Petr Cech’s left-hand post and rolled gently into the back of the Chelsea net, he again ran towards the lens.

This time, he stopped short, slid to his knees and waited to be mobbed by ecstatic team-mates. They had every right too, especially Ryan Giggs given his outrageous contribution.

Now 37, Ferguson has claimed the veteran Welshman could go on for a couple of years yet. How the United boss must hope that is true.

Having watched Michael Carrick deliver a pinpoint crossfield pass that was sensational in itself, Ferguson could only sit back and admire Giggs’ sublime first touch, which took him careering past the stranded Jose Bosingwa, and the coolness of his second, which left Rooney with a tap-in.

Cue delirium amongst the United contingent, satisfaction for Rooney and the precious away goal Ferguson had demanded.

Carlo Ancelotti could only urge his team – who had started the brighter – into some kind of response. It should have come in the final minute of that opening period.

Didier Drogba went for goal from an acute angle but his shot lacked power. Torres closed in, yet somehow completely missed the ball from a central position on the edge of the six-yard area.

As the ball bounced back off the post, Frank Lampard went to tap home, only for Patrice Evra to clear off the line.

Given Saturday’s draw at Stoke and Inter Milan’s stunning demise to Schalke in the San Siro, it is hardly overestimating the situation to say Carlo Ancelotti’s job hangs on reaching the final, and for that Torres needs to do what Roman Abramovich paid all that money for.

United suffered a hammer blow within minutes of the restart when Rafael went down after a seemingly innocuous tangle with Drogba.

The young Brazilian tried to continue but the pain in his left knee made it impossible, the stretcher carrying him away for what looks like a lengthy period.

Ferguson’s response was typical. With no obvious right-back replacement, instead of introducing a defender, in Chris Smalling or Jonny Evans, he went for Nani, asking Antonio Valencia to plug the gap.

Chelsea were able to get up a head of steam though. Ramires wasted an excellent chance when he glanced Drogba’s effort wide of the far post. The Ivorian himself was not too far away with a speculative overhead kick.

United’s defence – which has not conceded an away goal in this competition this season – held firm and came agonisingly close to grabbing a second when Nani drilled a cross to the far post that would have allowed Javier Hernandez to head into an empty net had Cech not gambled in a desperate attempt to claw the ball away from the Mexican.

The departure of Drogba for Nicolas Anelka 20 minutes from time placed even more weight on Torres’ shoulders just after Michael Essien had gone close for the hosts.

And the Liverpool man so nearly responded when he rose to meet Jose Bosingwa’s far-post cross and sent a header curling towards the corner that Van der Sar, troubled by a groin problem, was at full stretch to claw away.

United then breathed a sigh of relief in stoppage time when Patrice Evra sent Ramires tumbling but referee Alberto Mallenco failed to award what seemed to be a clear penalty.

There was still time for a Torres yellow card for diving under Valencia’s challenge, ending yet another unhappy night for the Spain star.

Rooney ensured his side will be in pole position when the Blues visit Old Trafford next week for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

The striker will discover on Thursday whether his challenge to the two-match ban for swearing into a television camera was successful, but he ensured he would be in the headlines on Thursday morning for all the right reasons.

After a cagey start, Rooney gifted United a valuable away goal after 24 minutes; Michael Carrick’s superb long-range pass finding Ryan Giggs on the left and the winger pulled the ball back for Rooney to slot the ball home from six yards.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti had kept faith with out-of-form striker Fernando Torres, who partnered Didier Drogba up front, but the Spaniard’s wait for his first goal in a Chelsea shirt continued as Rooney took the plaudits.

Chelsea’s best effort came shortly before half-time when Torres failed to steer Drogba’s cross goalwards, but the ball bounced off the far post and Frank Lampard’s weak shot on the rebound was cleared off the line by Patrice Evra.

The home side were denied a penalty deep into added time, when Evra failed to get the ball as he brought down Ramires – and just moments later Torres was booked after tumbling under a challenge from Antonio Valencia as the Blues desperately searched for an equaliser.

In the night’s other match, favourites Barcelona put one foot in the semi-finals after beating Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 at the Nou Camp.

Barcelona all but secured their spot in the Champions League semi-finals and a probable showdown with arch rivals Real Madrid after building a huge 5-1 first-leg lead over Shakhtar Donetsk.

Following on from Madrid’s 4-0 thumping of Tottenham, Barca appear to have done all the hard work in their home quarter-final tie after another memorable European night at the Nou Camp.

Andres Iniesta, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Seydou Keita and Xavi were on the mark for the Catalan giants, while Shakhtar’s sole reply came from Yaroslav Rakitskiy when they were already 3-0 down.

Patrick Evra appeared to bring down Ramires as the Brazilian midfielder burst through on goal, but neither the referee nor the extra official gave the decision.

Terry believes it was a “clear” penalty but chose his words carefully when discussing the decision of Spanish referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco.

He said: “I think the most frustrating thing for the players is that we can’t come out here and be honest about it. We would face possible bans. We’re seeing players receiving bans left, right and centre for speaking honestly after games.

“You guys (the media) lose out, the players can’t be honest and we end up walking on eggshells. Unfortunately, I can’t say more about it but it was a clear penalty.

“Even from 50 or 60 yards away, I could see Ramires got the first touch. After the game, we watched it on the video like everyone else.”

Terry remains confident that Chelsea can make it into the semi-finals by winning at Old Trafford.

“I can 100% see us turning the tie around,” he added. “We’re frustrated with the result and losing the game but the manager stressed after the game that it’s only half-time and we’re right in the tie. It’s disappointing as we were at home.

“We expected a better performance considering we were at home but we’ve got the quality to go up there and win the game. We did it in the league last year. They know we’re still in it and we certainly do as well.

“We’re also still in the title race – we realise we’re many points away but we’ve got one of the strongest squads in the league and everybody is now fully fit.”

Petr Cech has claimed it was ‘Groundhog Day’ for Chelsea after suffering another controversial Champions League defeat.

He said: “I don’t want to speak about it because, every year, it is the same thing. We are obviously disappointed because everyone could see the incident. The main point is that the person who matters most is the referee and if he doesn’t give it, you don’t get the penalty and that’s what happened.”

However, Cech insisted Chelsea had themselves to blame as much as Spanish official Alberto Undiano Mallenco.

“We lost the game 1-0, which is not only because of that – it was because we didn’t get a goal anyway throughout the game,” he said. “We created enough to score a goal and that’s what made the difference. We had plenty of shots on target and we didn’t score.”

United have never lost a European tie after winning the first leg away and Cech knows Chelsea faced an uphill task in Tuesday’s return at Old Trafford.

“When you are losing 1-0 at half-time in the tie, you can still win it, even though you have to play away,” he said. “Now the result means that we allow them to play the same type of game at Old Trafford. They will defend and wait for the counter-attack and wait for their chances.

“That is their main strength and it makes the tie difficult for us. We go there and we will have a go. We want to do better and win every game – we would like to have a perfect performance all the time but that is very difficult to do. We know that everybody gave everything.

“It was not the best of performances but we know we have to go there and perform well to get something out of the game.”

Frank Lampard has urged Chelsea to unleash the burning sense of injustice in the second leg.

“We can’t really think like that too much because it’s negative thoughts,” he said. “We just use it to motivate us, really.

“Everyone knows it was a penalty, but he didn’t give it – simple as that. I can’t believe he didn’t give it. It was blatant – everyone in the stadium saw that.”

Mallenco is the same referee who disallowed Chelsea a Champions League goal at Juventus two years ago, despite the ball being a whole foot over the line.

Lampard said: “Things do sometimes go in your favour and sometimes they don’t. It seems in the Champions League that we’ve had some bad luck.”

As well as the penalty incident, Lampard was desperately unfortunate not to equalise when Evra cleared his shot off the line, but otherwise Chelsea found chances hard to come by.

“We didn’t play as well as we can do,” Lampard said. “That’s probably what I’d look at mainly rather than the decision. You wanted to keep a clean sheet and you wanted to try to win the game at home, so it’s not the result we look for.

“But it’s half-time and we have to remain confident that we can go and win, as we’ve done before at Old Trafford.”

Chelsea have a better record there than almost anyone, clinching a 2-1 victory in what proved a Premier League title decider last season.

“We know we can win there but, obviously, it makes it a bit more difficult,” Lampard said. “Ideally, you get a result at home, in front of your home fans. But it wasn’t to be. So we’ve made it a must to go and win there.

“People will make Man United favourites and probably rightly so, considering they’ve won at our place. But we’re certainly still in the game and we’ve got a belief in ourselves that we can go there and win.”

Real and Barcelona now seem destined to meet in a classic semi-final showdown after both sides enjoyed runaway first-leg victories in the first legs, but Ronaldo is taking nothing for granted.

He said: “We’ve taken a huge step but we have to play in London and we can’t underestimate Tottenham. In the second half we showed our superiority, touching the ball and looking for goals. We should congratulate ourselves because it’s a great result.

“I am happy because the team played well and 4-0 in the quarter-finals of this competition is very good. Even so, we have to continue to work and make use of our advantage – but anything can happen in football.

“Regardless of whether we played against 10 men, the team played well. The first half was a bit difficult but we improved significantly in the second half.”

Xabi Alonso added: “I know their ground well. It’s one of the grounds I liked the most in England. Despite the 4-0, their fans will support them to the death. If we do well and control the game from the start we’ll have an easy night. But if they find a bit of life they can complicate things for us so we shouldn’t take anything for granted.

“You never know what can happen in football but it’s true that we have to play very, very badly and they have to play very, very well.”

Wenger has come under fire from some sections of the Arsenal support, having been unable to end a trophy drought that spans back to the 2005 FA Cup.

The Gunners were stunned by a late strike from Birmingham in the Carling Cup final, before bowing out of the Champions League against Barcelona at the Nou Camp. In the aftermath of those disappointments, their league form has also stuttered, leaving them seven points behind leaders Manchester United.

And Wenger’s claim that the season can still be deemed successful even without a trophy is unlikely to go down well with disgruntled supporters.

“It’s the crucial moment where we have to trust these players, show some strength and not listen to some opinions of people who have not worked half a day in football,” he said. “They do not know how much work is behind a team like that, and how much mental strength is behind a team like that.

“We are in a strong position. It is a process of real club work, coaching work, it’s not just go out and buy a player for X amount of money.

“Success is to do the maximum with the talent you have, to be consistent at the top. It’s not that you’re good one day and terrible the next, it’s that you can turn up every day you work as good as you can. That is, for me, success.

“If there is someone better than you, you have to accept it one day. And that’s exactly like us in the competition. If Manchester United is better than us, we have to say congratulations. What is important is that we give absolutely everything to beat them – and that is, for me, success.”

Meanwhile, Arsenal will hand a late fitness test to Theo Walcott ahead of their clash with Blackpool on Sunday, while Alex Song is definitely out.

Liverpool trail fifth-placed Spurs, who have a game in hand, by five points but Harry Redknapp‘s team still has to travel to Anfield to face Kenny Dalglish‘s side.

The Reds would have given themselves a much better chance of turning up the pressure had they not lost at West Brom last week but £35 million striker Carroll said the team have moved on from that surprise defeat.

“Everyone has been lively in training,” Carroll said. “All of the lads are still confident we can get into fifth and get there (Europe). We just need a slip up to go for us and to keep working hard and getting three points week in, week out.

“We’re looking forward to the next game against Manchester City (on Monday) now and putting West Brom behind us.

“They’ve got great players all-round and they’ve got some England boys in there that I was away with last week. But if we stick together like we can do, we can go out there and beat them.”

Dalglish is likely to discover on Friday the extent of the groin injury sustained by captain Steven Gerrard last week, just as he was preparing to return to action after an operation on a similar problem.

He has already had mixed injury news this week, with centre-back Daniel Agger ruled out for the rest of the season after damaging a knee tendon at the Hawthorns and Glen Johnson sidelined for a month with a hamstring strain.

Jarvis made his England debut against Ghana last month and Wolves are ready to rebuff a series of transfer bids for the left winger over the summer.

“Jarvis is not for sale at any price,” McCarthy said. “No-one at this football club needs to be sold.”

“But I read that Jarvis is meant to be going to Liverpool or wherever and it’s a nonsense. He is far too valuable to us. If anyone comes knocking at my door they will get a custard pie.

“We need our best players. Why the hell should we sell him? He’s one of our best players, we’ve just got him in the England squad, so no he’s not for sale.”

Jarvis, who began his career at Gillingham, signed a new five-year deal with Wolves last season.