'I expect patience and humility' - Noah Okafor row rages on as director fires back at Leeds United star
The director of the Switzerland national team, Pierluigi Tami, has hit back at comments from Leeds United star Noah Okafor.
Leeds signed Okafor from AC Milan in the summer, paying a reported £18m for the services of the tricky winger.
His CV is an impressive one and features 24 senior Switzerland caps, although he has been frozen out of the national team set-up by head coach Murat Yakin.
In a recent interview with The Athletic, Okafor outlined his disappointment at his exile.
Noah Okafor’s admission
He said: “They don’t even call me or ask me. For me, it makes no sense. I can say it makes me sad because they don’t even text me or call me to see how I am.
“For example, when I moved to Leeds, ‘congrats’ or something like that, because I play now in the best league in the world.”
Switzerland director fires back
Okafor’s comments have now been responded to by Tami, who has insisted it was the wrong time for the 25-year-old to speak out.
As reported by Blick, Tami said: “Noah could have picked up the phone and called Yakin at any time. His decision to speak out now is not good. This is the wrong moment.
“Right now, the focus is on the team, not individuals. It's crucial that we can showcase ourselves on the big World Cup stage.
“Noah had a difficult year at Milan and Napoli. Now at Leeds, he's slowly getting back into form. We're certainly keeping an eye on that. But right now, we want to focus on the upcoming matches. I don't want this situation to become a topic of conversation within the team.
“If a player has a problem, he needs to speak up and can't just wait and hope that someone will contact him. But again, it's about the present moment.
“We can certainly use his qualities. But I now expect patience and humility from him."