This comes after the Manchester United centre-back suffered another Euro 2012 snub.
The FA confirmed Gary Cahill has been ruled out of the tournament after fracturing his jaw in two places during the weekend friendly win against Belgium at Wembley.
This meant Hodgson had another space to fill in his squad, having used his standby defender, Phil Jagielka, to replace Gareth Barry last week.
Ferdinand, 33, would have been the obvious choice given his vast experience, a commodity which England have lost so much of following the injuries to Barry and fellow central midfielder Frank Lampard in the past week.
However, Hodgson has gone for Liverpool youngster Martin Kelly, who made his international debut as a substitute in the final two minutes of the win in Norway on May 26.
The manager was questioned when naming his squad on May 16 about whether he had snubbed Ferdinand because of concerns he would not be able to get along with John Terry, in light of Terry's impending court case for alleged racist remarks to Ferdinand's brother Anton at Loftus Road in October.
Terry denies the charge against him.
It appears the Ferdinand camp feel there is more to this latest decision than simply "footballing reasons", the grounds Hodgson gave for leaving the Manchester United man out of his initial squad.
Ferdinand's representative Jamie Moralee said: "Lampard, Terry, Barry, Gerrard; all ageing but they go to the tournament.
"Why is Rio different?
"To treat a player that has captained and served his country 81 times [in this manner] is nothing short of disgraceful.
"Total lack of respect from Hodgson and the FA as far as I am concerned."
Kelly, who made just 12 Barclays Premier League appearances for Liverpool last term, is bound to be relishing his chance.
However, having lost the equivalent of 143 caps' worth of experience last week when Lampard and Barry were ruled out through injury, then bemoaned how much they would be missed, it is hard to believe Hodgson has ignored Ferdinand on form grounds alone.
The defender made 38 appearances last term and started United's last 16 Premier League games.
That will bring more questions of the coach when England arrive at their Euro 2012 base in Krakow on Wednesday.
