Dubai: Kevin Pietersen has hit back at the suggestion only English-born sportsmen should be allowed to represent England by saying the Football Association (FA) should follow cricket’s lead if the national team wants to taste success.
A storm has erupted in the UK after the FA said it was looking into the eligibility of rising Manchester United star Adnan Januzaj, who was born in Belgium but could eventually play for England under world football governing body Fifa’s residency rules. Current Three Lions midfielder Jack Wilshere told media on Tuesday: “The only people who should play for England are English people. If you live in England for five years it doesn’t make you English.”
But South Africa-born batting star Pietersen, who has an English mother and qualified to represent the country after four years in the county game, strongly disagrees. After taking Wilshere to task on Twitter, Pietersen told Gulf News on Thursday: “I can only speak for myself, but I’ve got a British mum, a British passport — I’m British.
“I play for England. We don’t set the rules, we play by the rules. The governing bodies set the rules and we adhere to them and I’m very, very fortunate and very privileged and lucky enough to play for England. You’ll have to ask Jack on his comments.”
Asked whether cricket’s approach was right, Pietersen replied: “We win a lot of trophies don’t we? I think the FA is probably trying to see whether they can find some way of winning.”
Pietersen, who is in Dubai to be unveiled as the Middle East ambassador for watch company Citizen, has become a mainstay of the England cricket team and is set to make his 100th Test appearance in the first match of the upcoming Ashes series in Australia. For England he has played alongside the likes of Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior, who were also born in South Africa, and on Twitter he reminded Wilshere of some other famous British sports people who have represented the country without being born there.
“Jack Wilshere — interested to know how you define foreigner...?” Pietersen tweeted.
“Would that include me, Strauss, Trott, Prior, Justin Rose [South Africa-born golfer], [Chris] Froome [Kenya-born Tour de France champion], Mo Farah [Somalia-born Olympic champion athlete]?”
Arsenal player Wilshere, 21, insisted he’d only been talking about his own sport. “With all due respect Mr Pietersen the question was about Football! Cricket, cycling, Athletics is not my field!”
But that didn’t satisfy Pietersen, with the 33-year-old former England captain replying: “Same difference...It’s about representing your country! IN ANY SPORT!”
Pietersen also admitted to Gulf News that he receives regular abuse on social media about his South African roots. “Read my Twitter feed — all day, every day. But it’s no problem, rough with the smooth, it doesn’t affect me.”
— With inputs from AFP
