The antics of Everton star Tim Cahill has split the Australia camp, claims one senior player. A big-name player broke ranks, on the condition of anonymity, to reveal: "Some of the boys have let the whole superstar thing go to their heads and they act like they are untouchable.''
An email from a senior Australia international sent to the Sunday Telegraph was published in it's entirety today, criticising Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer for defending Cahill after his Sydney nightclub controversy.
It read, "For Mark to say that he totally believes what Tim says when he wasn't even there just goes to show how far some people will go to stick their head in the sand. Mark has been in the team for as long as I have and this sort of thing has always been part of every camp except when Guus (Hiddink) was in charge.
"The only difference lately is that some of the boys think that they can push things to new extremes in the way they treat people and the worst thing about it is that the young players are imitating what the senior players are doing.
"I have been with the team for over 10 years and we have always liked to go and have a drink and a laugh after a game, and fair enough, too. When you work hard and give everything you can, then win, lose or draw, you should be able to have a good time with your team-mates, but within reason.
"You don't go around abusing people and acting like a big-time Charlie. Ever since the World Cup it has just gotten worse and worse. Some of the boys have let the whole superstar thing go to their heads and they act like they are untouchable. The worst thing is that lately they have been going out of camp even before matches and breaking curfews.
"It happened before the April 1 game. Everyone knew about it ... the media, the FFA and Pim (Verbeek) and they just pretended it didn't happen. What gets me is the guys that are doing this sort of thing the most are the ones running around the place and telling everyone how they do this and that for the kids and how they want to be role models.
"It's a bloody disgrace and I'm glad that people are finally taking it a bit more seriously. If we don't pull our heads out of the sand and be honest with ourselves the World Cup will be a disaster.''
