Luiz Felipe Scolari rejected the chance of coaching England because he was irritated by in-fighting at the FA, sources close to the Brazilian said yesterday.
Scolari withdrew from the race to be England coach last Friday, a day after the FA announced on its website that chief executive Brian Barwick had met him in Lisbon.
But last night it was claimed Scolari did not in fact meet up with anyone from the FA. Barwick instead spoke to his agent, Gilmar Veloz. The agent informed Barwick of what he already knew: the Portugal manager would not consider the FA's offer until after the World Cup.
"The FA asked Gilberto Madail [ the chairman of the Portuguese FA] for permission to show official interest in Luiz Felipe," said Acaz Fellegger, Scolari's press spokesman in Sao Paulo.
"Two members of the FA then met up with Gilmar Veloz in Lisbon last week and made their interest official. Salary was not mentioned. It was not the offer of a job. Gilmar Veloz said that he would go and speak to Luiz Felipe and get back to them after the World Cup."
Though Madail had given official permission for talks in February, under what he termed a gentlemen's agreement, Scolari had given his word to the Portuguese federation's president that he would not pursue the matter in person.
It is understood Scolari was therefore fuming when it was claimed on the FA website he had actually met Barwick. A friend of the Portugal coach said: "The FA didn't meet up with Luiz Felipe. This really irritated him. If you want to speak to him you have to be serious. What happened last week showed that the FA is not a serious organisation. It appears that there are two sides working against each other at the FA. One side wanted Luiz Felipe. The other side didn't. And neither side respects the other."
The revelations will open an inquest into how the FA conduct their business. The Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein was heaped with praise for having guided the pursuit of Scolari and was the champion of the Brazilian's cause.
In the other corner stood the Premier League chairman Dave Richards, who had made a public statement about the FA's desire to secure a British candidate for the England manager's post. Scolari objected to the power struggle, and the friend added that had the FA dealt with its approach in a different way then the outcome may have been different.
"Would Luiz Felipe be interested in working in England? He would. Were there people at the FA who wanted him in the job? There were. But there needs to be mutual respect. You can never say never, but I imagine it would be very, very difficult for him to ever accept the England job in the future."
Guardian Service
