Toffees lose battle to keep Pienaar for Blues clash

EVERTON have lost their battle to have Steven Pienaar available for tonight’s Carling Cup semi-final first leg at Chelsea.

Toffees boss David Moyes yesterday invoked the 14-day rule and insisted the South African international would not have to travel to join up with his country’s African Cup of Nations squad until Wednesday.

Moyes’ view was that FIFA regulations did not make it clear whether players should be released 14 days ahead of the start of the competition, or 14 days ahead of a specific country’s first match.

The tournament starts in Ghana on January 20, but South Africa’s first match is not until January 23 against Angola.

Pienaar was expected to fly to Pretoria on Sunday, but trained with Everton yesterday.

But by mid-afternoon, South Africa had formally asked FIFA to intervene, and Everton were contacted by the world’s governing body and told their interpretation of the rule was wrong and that Pienaar should be released immediately.

An Everton spokesman said: “Steven will be going to London today, but not to Stamford Bridge. He will be flying out from Heathrow. We have been contacted by FIFA and told he has to be released.”

Moyes’ stance was almost certainly prompted by an annoyance with South African intransigence on the subject, particularly as Nigeria have given Everton permission to use Ayegbeni Yakubu and Joseph Yobo at Stamford Bridge before releasing them the following day to join their country’s training camp in Malaga.

The decision to stop Pienaar flying to South Africa seemed little more than an open show of defiance by Everton, and Moyes.

But once FIFA became involved it was clear they considered the midfielder had to be released 14 days before the opening day of the tournament — as per their rules.

Moyes said: “The rules, in my view, do not stipulate exactly whether it is 14 days before the tournament or 14 days before South Africa’s first game. We have taken the latter view.”

“I was not going to let it go without a fight,” he added.

Moyes will have Yobo back from a foot injury, while Tim Howard, Tim Cahill, Phil Neville and Nuno Valente will all be in the squad having missed Saturday’s FA Cup defeat by Oldham.