Eriksson told the News Of The World:
"It's a great shame Rio is not playing. We're talking about the best central defender in Europe, if not the world. That, in my opinion, is without question.
"I feel sorry we could do nothing after the decision was made to ban him because we had no one to talk to about it. That is not right. It was a hard verdict on Rio. He was punished by someone independently who did not take other matters into account. And nobody could speak out for the player."