Charlton refuse to release China captain for qualifiers

AFP - 10 October 2007 10:21

China´s hopes of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup have been dealt a blow after Charlton Athletic refused to release captain Zheng Zhi (seen here in July 2007) to play in their upcoming qualifying double-header.

BEIJING (AFP) - China's hopes of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup have been dealt a blow after Charlton Athletic refused to release captain Zheng Zhi to play in their upcoming qualifying double-header.

The games, against Myanmar home and away on October 21 and 28 respectively, fall outside the international window and Addicks boss Alan Pardew said he was within his rights to keep hold of the midfielder.

"I apologise to the Chinese federation that they will be without ZiZi for these qualifiers, but I have made the decision to keep him here," Pardew told the club website.

"If he were to travel, he would miss our games against Wolves, Plymouth and QPR because the fixtures fall outside of the international window.

"I know ZiZi is an important player for his country but he is also important for us, and I am sure that China will be able to get the results they need from the two games without him."

Zheng, 26, signed permanently for Charlton for two million pounds in August. He was previously on loan to the British side from January to May.