By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
May 23 – Former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke (pictured) has been accused of betraying his former Trinidad and Tobago team-mates in the on-going row over unpaid bonuses from the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Yorke was one of seven players who refused to join in the legal dispute which has split the sport in Trinidad and Tobago, which has angered goalkeeper Kelvin Jack, who played in one of Trinidad’s matches in Germany.
Along with Yorke, other players who refused to get involved included Wigan Athletic striker Jason Scotland and former Hibernian and Glasgow Rangers striker Russell Latapy, who is now the national team coach.
“Of course I am disappointed they did not stand up with us, especially since there were certain players who would criticise the TTFF (Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation) at every opportunity,” Jack told the website, Socawarriors.net.
“They know themselves.
“To put this into perspective, let’s say the England squad were in our position, do you think the players would have been divided like this?
“I guarantee you the answer is a resounding ‘no’.
“One thing would have been certain, the likes of John Terry, Gary Neville, Wayne Rooney etc would have never, as senior players, betrayed their team-mates like that.
“Players over here in the UK are stunned all our players did not stick together.”
The players, who have employed London-based lawyer Mike Townley to help fight their case, claim that each is owed between TT$1.9-$3.4 million (£210,000-£370,000).
“All the players were in support of taking the action that we took to have our bonus dispute rectified, with the exception of maybe two or three players,” said Jack.
“In my opinion, a lot of the players, defected because of their own agendas.
“To me, that is a betrayal of not only your team-mates, but also the young players who would possibly have to deal with a situation similar to ours.
“I always ask God to spare the young kids coming up that they will not have to deal with the issues we have been faced with.”
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