No Apology To Idowu —UK Coach

UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee says he will not apologise to triple jumper Phillips Idowu.

The pair have not spoken since June 2011 when van Commenee publicly criticised Idowu for using Twitter to reveal he was pulling out of the European Team Championships.

Van Commenee also said he does not know if Idowu will be fit for London 2012.

“An apology has to mean something – I am not going to apologise when I don’t mean it,” he told BBC Sport.

Van Commenee said that he communicated with Idowu via his coach Aston Moore.

The 2009 world champion, 33, has not competed since June and officials are trying confirm whether he is fit for the Games. The British Olympic Association requested to see Idowu’s medical records on Tuesday.

The Beijing silver medallist has not attended a Team GB training camp in Portugal and Van Commenee admitted there has been a breakdown in trust between the pair.

“He’s not here – I wish he was here, because I think it is the best place to prepare,” he said. “His coach is here, the best medical staff are here and all the athletes are here, so I’m slightly frustrated with that.

“I have always been clear that communication is always open at this end but Philips wants a public apology from me before he wants to speak to me and that is not going to happen.

“At the same time I feel sympathy as well because he is not in the greatest place two weeks before the most important moment in his athletic life and you would never wish that to any athlete, certainly not an athlete preparing for a home Games in his home town.”

Van Commenee said he had one sanction open to him, but he did not want to invoke that.

“I could withdraw his entry to the Games, obviously I’m not going to do that because I don’t want to take that away from him nor from the crowd,” he said.