Cahill in Asian Cup tug-of-war

Socceroos star Tim Cahill has been thrust into a new club versus country row, with
Everton manager David Moyes fuming about losing his most important player for up to
six weeks because of the Asian Cup.
Moyes has expressed his displeasure about being without Cahill not only for the
tournament in Qatar from January 7 to 29, but also for any Socceroos lead-up camp.
While Moyes admits he has no choice but to release Cahill for the Asian Cup under
FIFA regulations, he is determined to keep his leading goalscorer with his club as
long as possible before the tournament begins.
"They are due to take him mid to late December and depending how far they go in the
tournament will determine how long he is away," Moyes told England's The Guardian
newspaper.
"I'm trying to delay him going until January and will do the best I can but I think
it's unfair.
"Tim is massively important for us. He is going to be a really big miss. I cannot do
anything about it.
"All I hope is that I get as much time with him before he goes away."
Moyes has also called for international associations to pay players' wages during
tournaments such as the Asian Cup.
"We sign African players and we accept that they will be away to the African Cup of
Nations.
"When we signed Tim Cahill, Australia were not in Asia's pool, they were in Oceania.
So we didn't expect to be missing Tim Cahill (for the Asian Cup).
"You can't ask them to change, but maybe if you are going to take the player away in
the middle of the season then shouldn't a club get reimbursed?"
Football Federation Australia said Socceroos coach Holger Osieck would pick the best
available squad for the Asian Cup - and that would certainly include a fully-fit
Cahill.
"It is a FIFA-sanctioned event, and we expect clubs to adhere to FIFA's regulations
(and release players for the Asian Cup)," an FFA spokesman said.