Petit questions England absentees

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The Chelsea pair missed their country's European Championship qualifying defeat to Croatia last Wednesday after they were not deemed match fit, but only three days later both played in their club's 2-0 Barclays Premier League win at Derby.

Former France, Arsenal and Chelsea star Petit told BBC Sport: "I'm talking about very important defenders. Can you imagine me not playing a big game for my country and then three days later I play for my club?"

The 3-2 loss to Croatia saw England crash out of Euro 2008 and signalled the end of coach Steve McClaren's reign.

England captain Terry had been out of action with a knee injury since October 16, while Cole was on the bench at Wembley but was unused by McClaren.

"It was very interesting last Saturday to see players like John Terry - who is the leader of Chelsea and England - wasn't part of the Wednesday game and he was playing on Saturday," said Petit, who won the World Cup with France in 1998.

"It was very interesting to see also Ashley Cole playing against Derby and he wasn't featuring last Wednesday as well.

"They were not in the national team and they were playing for their clubs three days later.

"So before looking for excuses somewhere else, putting the trouble on foreign players or managers, people have to be honest.

"That's what fans want to hear from players: 'We failed and we are responsible for that'. We are not looking for excuses. I think people are thinking only of themselves, not for football and not for the fans."