With just hours left of the transfer window, the Asmir Begovic row is getting a bit tasty. We’d already heard from Tony Pulis how the Stoke keeper had ‘refused to play’ but that he had no chance of getting a transfer to Chelsea. Now Begovic himself has stirred things up a bit more by countering what he calls a ‘disgraceful accusation.’
Pulis had claimed the Bosnian keeper had refused to play in last week’s Carling Cup game against Shrewsbury and the suggestion was he was trying to get himself a way out of Stoke following an offer from Chelsea which the club declined.
However, Begovic insists “I never refused to play. I’d never do such a thing to turn down a chance to play a first-team game. I was aware that there was a bid made and he (Pulis) said it was being considered. We spoke about it, it was a private conversation and for it to get out publicly was a little bit disappointing. I tried to see him before the team meeting but he refused to see me and then he named the team. We spoke about the situation and as far as he was concerned he understood the position I was in and he didn’t have any problems with me not playing at the time and I thought that was the end of the story but I would never go on strike. That’s an absolutely disgraceful accusation for people to make.”
The other thing of note in this saga is that Sorensen sustained an elbow injury at the weekend, so it’ll be more than interesting to see where this one ends up!
Blue is the colour
