Taiwanese-Spanish soccer player Yaki Yen on Wednesday announced his decision to quit Taiwan’s national squad, saying that as long as Satoshi Imai remains the head coach, he will not play in a national uniform.
Yen made the announcement on his Facebook page and expressed disappointment that he was not picked to represent Taiwan in the upcoming East Asia Cup qualifiers, where Taiwan is scheduled to face East Timor in two games early next month.
“I love Taiwan, and really want to play for the national squad, but the coaching staff are opinionated against me,” he said. “I want to inform the public that I will not play for the national squad as long as this unprofessional Japanese head coach is on the job.”
Photo courtesy of YaKi Yen’s Facebook page
“I want to say sorry to the fans, that I could not contribute to Team Taiwan this time,” he added.
Yen was born to a Taiwanese father and a Spanish mother in Las Palmas, the Canary Islands, and played with UD Fuerteventura in Spain’s third division.
He obtained his Republic of China (ROC) citizenship in 2005 and made his national squad debut against Iraq on Sept. 9 last year.
Yen is currently playing for Changchun Yatai in the Chinese Super League.
When asked by reporters yesterday to further explain his decision to quit the national squad, Yen said that Imai showed him disrespect and had played him out of position starting with the international match against Cambodia in June.
“The head coach selected me to start for that home game in Kaohsiung, but he put me in the rightback position, but my best position, and the one I am most familiar with, is fullback,” he said. “I felt Imai was not respectful of the players. It was my patriotic duty to give my best efforts for the team at that match.”
Yen said he was dropped from the squad for an away game with Cambodia five days later, adding that he accepted a media interview prior to a home game and that might have started the friction with Imai.
“A good head coach must use his brain to manage, and not his emotions,” he said. “I see him as an unprofessional coach, and I have decided to quit the squad as long as Imai is in charge of the national team.”
The Chinese Taipei Football Association yesterday issued a statement in response to Yen’s decision to quit the squad, saying: “We stand by the head coach’s decision and his right to pick players for the team roster.”
“The head coach is the one who is responsible for wins or defeats by the national squad, and he is in charge of selecting players who are suitable for his style, and those who are not suited for the game... We respect the words expressed by Yaki [Yen],” it added.
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play on Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena last night. “Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working first responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community. We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our
TWO IN A WEEK: Despite an undefeated start to the year playing alongside Jiang Xinyu of China, Wu Fang-hsien is to play the Australian Open with a Russian partner Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien yesterday triumphed at the Hobart International, winning the women’s doubles title at the US$275,094 outdoor hard-court tournament, while McCartney Kessler lifted the trophy in the women’s singles. Fourth-ranked Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu of China took 1 hour, 15 minutes to defeat Romania’s Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the Hobart International Tennis Centre, their second title in a week. Wu and Jiang on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US. Their winning ways continued in Australia as they stretched
EL CLASSICO: La Liga champions Real Madrid would face Barcelona in the Super Cup final tomorrow. Barca secured their final spot after a 2-0 win over Bilbao on Wednesday Real Madrid would chase a record-equaling 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals by Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them to a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the semi-finals on Thursday. England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a low shot into the middle of the goal before Mallorca defender Martin Valjent’s own goal doubled the lead in stoppage time followed by a Rodrygo strike from close range. Spanish champions Real are to play Barcelona for the trophy tomorrow after goals by Gavi and Lamine Yamal earned Barca a 2-0 win over
RSS