Rio Ferdinand has hit back at England fans for booing David Bentley in the 3-0 win over Israel, saying it "left a bad taste in the mouth".

Bentley had angered England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce after he withdrew from the European Championship in Holland at a late stage.

And the England fans were keen to express their disappointment in him when he came on as a substitute for the final 20 minutes of the game against Israel.

But Ferdinand says the fans were wrong to boo Bentley and that their reaction was the only down side to the match.

"We had such a good performance and everyone was quite happy but what happened with David left a bad taste in the mouth," said Ferdinand.

"The lad is on England duty and you don't expect him to get booed, no matter what has happened in the past.

"In some quarters, people might say what he did in the summer was a wrong decision but in hindsight, it is easy to say that.

"He is a young lad, on a learning curve, making his seniors debut for England and he did not deserve to be booed."