Former England international Terry Fenwick, who is the current coach of Trinidad and Tobago, has been accused of headbuttig a press officer after they got into a furious argument.
Fenwick, who represented the Three Lions at the 1986 World Cup and won 20 caps for his country, has been in charge of the Caribbean nation since January 1, 2020.
Local media outlet, Wired868 reported that Fenwick was heard shouting ‘I told you I am not doing any f***ing interview once he is here’ towards press officer Shaun Fuentes, seemingly unhappy with the presence of a journalist.
The manager was due to hold a press briefing with journalists at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva ahead of his side’s World Cup qualifiers against Guyana and Puerto Rico later this month.
Fenwick’s row with Fuentes reportedly escalated when the Englishman head-butted Fuentes. But the pair later returned to the journalists and conducted the press conference.
Robert Hadad, a FIFA-appointed normalisation committee chairman, was present as the incident unfolded and later demanded a report into the incident.
On Wednesday March 17, the TTFA issued a statement to local media that said ‘apologies were exchanged’ but it did not refer to a headbutt.
It read: ‘The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association wishes to state that following an incident at the Senior Team training session involving men’s national head coach Terry Fenwick and director of communications and team press officer Shaun Fuentes on Wednesday morning at the Ato Boldon Stadium.
‘The matter has been addressed at a meeting involving the two individuals, team manager Adrian Romain and the normalisation committee chairman Robert Hadad.
‘The TTFA further advises that the matter was blown out of proportion as head coach Fenwick only chose to express his disapproval of a certain member of the media fraternity being present at a scheduled media briefing on the eve of the team’s departure for the Dominican Republic for the upcoming Concacaf World Cup qualifier against Guyana.
‘Apologies were exchanged and Fenwick and Fuentes have since agreed to put the incident behind them and continue the focus on the team’s upcoming assignments in Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.’
‘Both Fenwick and Fuentes proceeded to conduct themselves in a professional manner and subsequently hosted the media briefing before the media present at the venue.’
Fenwick, 61, played for Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham, Leicester and Swindon Town during his playing career.
He is best known for his role in Diego Maradona’s stunning ‘Goal of the Century’ in England’s 1986 World Cup quarter-final defeat by Argentina.
