FIFA Vice President and “special advisor” to the Trinidad & Tobago Football Federation Jack Warner may have picked the wrong opponent when he sent a letter to Sunderland manager Roy Keane earlier this week accusing him of “callous disregard” for small soccer nations. The former Manchester United and Ireland captain is not known for backing down when it comes to a fight, and he duly responded to Warner’s accusations Friday over the issue of striker Dwight Yorke’s recall to Sunderland from international duty with T&T.
“The man’s a clown,” Keane said. “He sent me a letter and he was quite happy to give it to the media. I spoke to him on Wednesday and I told him what I thought about him and where I think he should go. He is writing these letters and it is always under the FIFA heading just to impress everybody. If he is vice president of FIFA, then God help us.”
Sunderland has claimed that Yorke, 36, had been given a one-year contract extension at the club after promising he would only play for Trinidad & Tobago if it did not interfere with his club commitments. He has been named in Sunderland’s squad to face Wigan Athletic this weekend. The forward came out of international retirement to make an appearance in a friendly against England in June. In that same game, his Sunderland and T&T teammate Kenwyne Jones sustained knee ligament damage.
“He [Warner] has not written me a letter about Kenwyne Jones, who got injured playing in a friendly match,” Keane noted. “They selected Carlos Edwards last year when he was out with a broken leg. Yorkie keeps making these cameo guest appearances for them, so maybe they have got some sort of deal going on themselves, I don’t know.”