Brad Friedel Demands Apology from Tim Howard over Comments in New Book

Tim Howard caused a furor with comments regarding his acquisition of a work visa before joining Manchester United, as former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Brad Friedel denied his claims.  The Professional Footballers Association has responded. 

Howard has since retracted his claims against the former United States keeper.

Continue for updates.

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Howard Retracts Claims

Tuesday, Dec. 16

Tim Howard took to his Twitter account to issue a retraction regarding his claims that Brad Friedel blocked his move to Manchester United:

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PFA Denies Hearing From Friedel

Thursday, Dec. 4

The Professional Footballers Association has released a statement regarding the Howard-Frieden saga:

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 The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) has been asked to confirm that we did not receive any correspondence from Brad Friedel with regard to denying Tim Howard a work permit.

Tim Howard moved to the Premier League in 2003, joining Manchester United in a £2.5million transfer from MLS club MetroStars.

In order to complete the move to Old Trafford, Howard needed a work permit, a process that applies to all players wishing to join an English club from outside the European Union.

The PFA is a member of the Stakeholders Consultation Group that sets the work permit criteria and is also a member of the appeal panel should a player not meet the pre-set criteria, as in Howard's case.

PFA Chief Executive, Gordon Taylor OBE stated: "With regard to the appeal by Manchester United on behalf of Tim Howard, which was successful, we have been asked to confirm that the PFA did not receive any correspondence from Brad Friedel in opposition of Tim Howard's work permit application."

Taylor added: "Tim Howard and Brad Friedel have both made fantastic contributions to English football and have amassed over 800 league appearances between them.

"Both goalkeepers have also enjoyed extremely successful international careers with the United States, sharing nearly 200 caps.

"We hope this matter can now be resolved amicably."

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Friedel Denies Howard's Claims

Wednesday, Dec. 3

Former USMNT goalkeeper Brad Friedel is demanding an apology from Everton stopper and USA international Tim Howard for a series of comments the latter wrote in his soon-to-be published autobiography, The Keeper, according to ESPN FC's Doug McIntyre.       

In the book, Howard claims the Tottenham backup actively tried to block his transfer to Manchester United in 2003, something the Red Devils' legal team allegedly told him after the ordeal was over:

"The legal team at Manchester United... told me that Brad hadn't merely refused to sign a statement on my behalf, he had actively tried to block my transfer," writes Howard. "He'd written to the appeals committee suggesting that I shouldn't be given a work permit at all."

The 43-year-old Friedel didn't take those accusations lightly, and he told his side of the story on Wednesday:

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It's complete garbage. To be honest with you, all we're looking for is an apology. We can't get the book reprinted. I'm not looking for monetary gain, I just want an apology.

There is no letter. I never sabotaged and I never stood in the way of Tim Howard getting a work permit. This is ludicrous

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According to Friedel, he was asked by the USMNT's coach at the time, Bruce Arena, to sign a letter of support for Howard, which would help him receive his work permit.

The letter was filled with inaccuracies, as Friedel told McIntyre the only true thing in the letter was his name, and any appeals committee would have noticed it straight away:

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It said that I had been in direct competition with Tim Howard for the starting job on the U.S. national team for the last two years, when anyone who follows [U.S.] soccer knew it was between Kasey [Keller] and I.

Yes, I refused to sign that. We got the letter and said 'We have to change this, because this isn't true.' We made our changes and sent it back. They didn't like what I was going to sign so they didn't use it. And that was the end of the matter.

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The two later met in Manchester, where Friedel tried to explain to Howard why he didn't sign the letter. He now claims he told the Word Cup hero he didn't sign "as a matter of principle," stating he wouldn't sign a document "full of lies."

Howard interpreted the message differently, believing Friedel didn't sign the letter because he had to work hard to receive a work permit. In his mind, Friedel believed Howard should do the same.

Michael Sohn/Associated Press

The veteran stopper also provided ESPN FC with a letter from the PFA, in which they backed up his claims that he didn't contact the organisation after the work permit appeal, disproving at least part of Howard's claims.

Friedel told McIntyre he would be willing to take the case to court but would prefer a different outcome, as he and Howard haven't lived on bad terms with each other in the past decade.

The Cauldron's Andy Glockner knows feuds between the USMNT's top keepers aren't new:

We'll likely never know exactly what happened 11 years ago. Regardless, this situation between two of the USA's all-time top goalkeepers is sure to spark further intrigue in Howard's upcoming book.