Neill mutiny claims retracted by author

Football broadcaster Les Murray has apologised for falsely accusing Australia captain Lucas Neill of leading a mutiny against Pim Verbeek.

Murray wrote in his book The World Game that Neill had led a mutiny against then-manager Pim Verbeek just moments before the Socceroos’ opening match of the 2010 World Cup against Germany in Durban, South Africa.

He accused Neill of rubbing Verbeek’s tactics off the whiteboard and describing the Dutchman’s defensive gameplan as ‘bulls**t’.

Australia went on to lose the match against Germany 4-0, and missed a spot in the Round of 16 after finishing third in Group D.

But in a dramatic about face, Murray issued a statement on Wednesday apologising for including the information in the book.

“In the light of new information that has come to hand I accept that I was misled by my sources and that Lucas Neill did not call for the team to ignore the then national coach’s instructions,” he said.

“In my view Lucas Neill has been an outstanding captain of the Australian national football team and the third party report of the Australian game against Germany was never meant to be disparaging of Mr Neill’s character and sense of duty to the team.”

Neill accepted the apology from Murray, who is a member of FIFA ethics committee, and said he would not issue any legal action

“I am obviously still disappointed that my name has been wrongly attached to these allegations, but I accept the apology that has been issued by Les Murray,” he said.

“After discussing the matter with Les, I have decided not to proceed with legal action. It was important for me to ensure that my reputation remain intact and make the public aware that I have never, nor would ever, behave in this manner towards a manager.”

“Furthermore I’m happy that any further prints of the book will exclude this extract. I sincerely hope that anybody who reads the book in its current form understands that the allegations that were reported about me are completely false.”