Wilfried Zaha and Steve Parish hit back at Gareth Southgate over claims winger lacked passion to play for England

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has accused the FA of letting down Wilfried Zaha after the winger's ‘passion’ was questioned by England manager Gareth Southgate following his decision to represent the Ivory Coast.

Zaha, who scored a stunning striker for the Ivory Coast against Russia last week, opted to play for the country of his birth ahead of January’s Africa Cup of Nations despite having previously represented England at under-19, under-21 and senior level.

But having not played for the Three Lions since 2013, the now 24-year-old opted to play for the Ivory Coast.

Southgate yesterday suggested he did not appreciated Zaha was on a "disappearing egg timer", but Parish has hit back saying England and the FA had countless opportunities to secure the player’s international future.

“The whole England set-up gave Wilfried no love and it is a shame that we lost him,” said Parish, according to the Times.

“Wilfried was waiting and waiting for that call. You don’t play at all those levels for England and then decide you want to play for the Ivory Coast.

“The love that they [Ivory Coast] gave him and the way that they courted him would have been what Jack Charlton did for Ireland [when English-born players were recruited by Ireland].

“It is devastating for us as we always thought we would see him in an England shirt. We need to learn their lessons. We need to capture all the talent we can and give it some love. You would not see Brazil let a player like that go.”

“It is all very well to come and watch players, but come to watch them, then go and meet them; tell them that you are watching them, tell them that they are doing well, make them feel loved and in touch with it. If we constantly neglect these kids, as their face does not fit or they are not maturing at the rate we want them to, then you, then you can’t tell the Premier League that we have to have more and more English players playing.

“Anybody who watched Wilfried will tell you that some of the things that he does are ludicrous. Do we not want that? I can’t believe there was not a role for Wilfried at England.”

Parish’s comments follow a statement released by Zaha’s representatives, Will Salthouse of Unique Sports Management, in a bid to ‘set the record straight’.

The statement read: “In light of recent comments and reports questioning Wilfried’s desire or passion to play for England I feel it’s important to set the record straight.

“Wilfried did not impose a timescale or set a date by which he had to be selected by England, there was no ‘disappearing egg timer’. The ‘private’ meeting with Mr Southgate was very amicable.

“However the fact remains that Wilfried made his decision to play for the Ivory Coast prior to Mr Southgate being appointed interim and subsequently permanent England manager. It was Wilfried’s personal choice and it was his right as a senior player to accept the opportunity to represent his nation of birth and that of his family heritage.

“His ‘desire’ or ‘passion’ should never have been publicly questioned for making that decision. Wilfried is very proud of his family and very proud to represent the Ivory Coast, most recently demonstrated by his performance against Russia.”