"FARCE" screams the headline on the back page of the Daily Star, with the paper's designers putting the FA in red to demonstrate exactly who they blame for a ridiculous situation.
The Daily Mirror labels Rio Ferdinand's quitting the England squad as "another England shambles", claiming that it "plunges Roy into a defensive crisis".
The Daily Mail bemoans the "farce" while The Times criticises the "confusion" that led to Ferdinand being included in the first place, but the most damning critique is found in the Daily Telegraph.
"Hodgson humiliated" runs the headline, with the paper's Mark Ogden not pulling his punches, saying that Ferdinand "delivered a humiliating and potentially damaging snub to Roy Hodgson [that] bordered on farce."
In the same paper Henry Winter sees it as, "a tale containing elements of farce, conceivably of revenge, definitely of constant confusion and clearly injurious to renowned individuals and institutions."
While Winter adds that Hodgson has been "naive", Ian Wright in The Sun says that the England manager has only himself to blame.
"Hodgson should take a long, hard look at himself. Like his predecessor Fabio Capello, he has handled Rio Ferdinand spectacularly badly," Wright writes.
"All of this would have been avoided had there been some proper communication between Rio and Hodgson. This is not the player’s fault."
The Times's Oliver Kay takes a different line, seeing the affair as part of a bigger story which has seen a huge shift in the balance of power between club and country in the last 20 years or so.
"It is the depressing reality of modern football, particularly in a country such as England, where the clubs are so powerful and the FA, by comparison, is so weak," he writes, adding that players simply don't like playing for their country any more.
"The illusion is of three lions on your chest, the crowd roaring in your ears, glory beckoning and your name in the headlines. The reality is of a burden on your shoulders, jeers for souvenirs, heartbreak, anticlimax and your name in the headlines."
On to the day's transfer news, and several papers run stories about Manchester City getting the green light to sign Edinson Cavani from Napoli, after Napoli club president Aurelio De Laurentiis admitted that there is a £60m buy-out clause. De Laurentiis poured cold water on the idea of a deal going ahead, claiming that only a "nutter" would pay so much for the Uruguayan.
The Daily Express reports that Carlos Tevez could be on his way back to his native Argentina in the summer with a move to Boca Juniors.
And the Manchester Evening News speculates further on Cristiano Ronaldo possibly leaving Real Madrid, basing its suspicions on the fact that the striker "did not break his silence on his future" while accepting an award.
In other news, the Telegraph reports that Manchester United will make a £15 million move for Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
That's not the only Stoke news today: the Daily Mail claims that manager Tony Pulis is considering quitting after having "grown disillusioned" with his "lack of progress".
And finally, Newcastle are considering legal action against Wigan for the tackle by midfielder Callum McManaman on Massadio Haidara at the weekend.
The Telegraph claims that "Newcastle believe they have a strong case if they pursue compensation" even though the FA may yet decide not to issue retrospective punishment.
Given that the Magpies paid out a six-figure sum for Kevin Nolan's tackle on Victor Anichebe in 2009, they probably know exactly what they're talking about.
