JERMAINE PENNANT is immediately in hot water with the locals as he bids to revive his career in Singapore.
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| Jermaine Pennant scored three goals in 81 games in all competitions for Liverpool |
Pennant – the Singapore League’s highest paid player on £5,000 a week after he signed for Tampines Rovers two weeks ago – was egged on by the former chairman of the club to use a local slang phrase “kaya referee” (wooden referee) at his unveiling.
Outraged League referees reacted immediately to Pennant’s inflammatory language (‘kaya’ also has connotations of corruption in a league dogged by accusations of match-fixing) and forced the club to issue a grovelling apology.
Pennant – who once played with an electronic tag for Birmingham following a drink-drive conviction – has now been banned by the club from opening his mouth to the media again.
Local reporter Suresh Nair said: “Nowhere in the world will a league’s highest paid player, a former England striker be jostled to utter words like these.
“I doubt Mr Pennant would dare do this in the Land of Football (England) because uttering those two words shows his ultimate disrespect for the law. No wonder he ended up in jail with an electronic ankle-strap to ply his trade”.
Pennant – who also played for Arsenal, Liverpool and Stoke – did not figure this week in Tampines 3-1 defeat to Indian champions Mohun Bagan in Calcutta.
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