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Jack Wilshere was in the middle of a controversy after his comments on ‘foreign’ players playing for England
England footballer Jack Wilshere and cricket team’s batting mainstay Kevin Pietersen were involved in a war of words on Twitter on Tuesday after the midfielder raised the issue of a sportsperson’s origins being important when playing for the national team.
The controversy broke out earlier on Tuesday when speaking at a press conference ahead of England’s World Cup qualifier against Montenegro, Wilshere responded to a question whether England should seek to include in the team Manchester United’s latest 18-year-old sensation Adnan Januzaj, who was brought up in Belgium and is qualified to play for many European countries, and what his view was about playing with ‘foreign players’ in the England national team.
Wilshere replied, “No, for me if you are English you are English and you play for England. 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. You shouldn’t play…it doesn’t mean you can play for a country. If I went to Spain and lived there for five years I am not going to play for Spain.”
South Africa-born cricketer Kevin Pietersen left his native country for England after protesting against the country’s quota system. Pietersen decided to seek clarification on Wilshere’s remarks on Twitter:
South Africa-born English cricketer Kevin Pietersen wasn’t happy with Wilshere’s comments
Wilshere’s reply focussed on the issue in football and he distanced himself from other sports. However, Pietersen was quick to respond.
After Pietersen’s remarks, Wilshere later took to Twitter to clear the air about his comments:
Kevin Pietersen replied this morning by taking a dig at the FA, stating that they should emulate other sports that win all the ‘trophies and medals’.
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