*Wilkins reveals he is fighting the chronic bowel disease ulcerative colitis

*Former midfielder keen to dismiss rumours he has a drinking problem

*Kevin Pietersen invited to play for MCC at Lord’s against Rest of the World

*Corporate hospitality packages for Rugby World Cup selling very well

Ray Wilkins, sacked as assistant manager by Fulham this week, has revealed he is suffering from the same debilitating illness as Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher.

Former Manchester United and Chelsea star Wilkins, 57, has been fighting the chronic bowel disease ulcerative colitis since 1990 along with periodic bouts of depression.

Wilkins has decided to reveal his medical condition in order to save his career in football management and rebut drinking allegations.

Claims were made from inside Fulham that Wilkins was the worse for wear in the dug-out for the 3-2 home defeat by Liverpool last Wednesday — a result that led to manager Rene Meulensteen and his back-room staff’s dismissal.

Wilkins explained that his medical condition can give him the ‘woozy’ appearance of being drunk.

‘I need to control the ulcerative colitis with strict medication, which I had not done before the Liverpool game,’ he said. ‘That is the reason I didn’t return to the dug-out after half-time as I needed to be close to a toilet.

‘Unfortunately I can look the worse for wear but it is nothing to do with drink. I did have verbals with Brendan Rodgers, but it was nothing.

‘I was face to face with (Fulham) chief executive Alistair Mackintosh and the owner Mr Khan straight before the game. And if I had been unable to carry out my duties, they had the right to sack me on the spot. I most certainly hadn’t been drinking on the train before the match.’

A clearly agitated Wilkins was involved in a touchline row with Liverpool boss Rodgers at half-time.

And Fulham sources suggested that Wilkins had arrived at Craven Cottage not in the best condition having earlier travelled to and from Birmingham by train to watch Fulham Under 21s play Aston Villa.

Wilkins was banned from driving for three years after a drink-driving conviction when he was found to be three times over the legal limit.

Fulham insiders also said that Meulensteen had tolerated Wilkins not being in the best shape for work on other occasions – seen as one of the reasons for the Dutchman being sacked after just 13 Premier League games.

The club’s sensitivity about the conduct of their management that night was due to American owner Shahid Khan being in attendance. And some of the players had voiced concern about whether Wilkins was well enough to carry on coaching.

Wilkins added: ‘I didn’t want to make a fuss about my illness, I didn’t tell Rene. Darren Fletcher said how hard it was to tell his team-mates. But I desperately want to carry on in football and there’s no chance of that happening if everyone gets the wrong impression that I have a drink problem.

‘I was very stupid about the drink-driving and I have had trouble with depression on occasions. But not since I was back in football. I was so excited about the Fulham challenge, but it’s all about results.’

Also leaving Fulham along with head coach Meulensteen, technical director Alan Curbishley and Wilkins are first-team coaches Jonathan Hill and Mick Priest, who were brought from Manchester United by Meulensteen.

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Will Perry, the BBC’s Olympic Games reporter, should really look at his own puerile Twitter postings before using social media to criticise proper journalists in Sochi.

Ray Wilkins, sacked as assistant manager by Fulham this week, has revealed he is suffering from the same debilitating illness as Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher.

Former Manchester United and Chelsea star Wilkins, 57, has been fighting the chronic bowel disease ulcerative colitis since 1990 along with periodic bouts of depression.

Wilkins has decided to reveal his medical condition in order to save his career in football management and rebut drinking allegations.

Revealing all: Ray Wilkins revealed he is fighting the chronic bowel disease ulcerative colitis

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Revealing all: Ray Wilkins revealed he is fighting the chronic bowel disease ulcerative colitis

Claims were made from inside Fulham that Wilkins was the worse for wear in the dug-out for the 3-2 home defeat by Liverpool last Wednesday — a result that led to manager Rene Meulensteen and his back-room staff’s dismissal.

Wilkins explained that his medical condition can give him the ‘woozy’ appearance of being drunk.

‘I need to control the ulcerative colitis with strict medication, which I had not done before the Liverpool game,’ he said. ‘That is the reason I didn’t return to the dug-out after half-time as I needed to be close to a toilet.

Keeping quiet: Wilkins said he did not tell Rene Meulensteen about his illness that make him appear ‘woozy’

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Keeping quiet: Wilkins said he did not tell Rene Meulensteen about his illness that make him appear ‘woozy’

‘Unfortunately I can look the worse for wear but it is nothing to do with drink. I did have verbals with Brendan Rodgers, but it was nothing.

‘I was face to face with (Fulham) chief executive Alistair Mackintosh and the owner Mr Khan straight before the game. And if I had been unable to carry out my duties, they had the right to sack me on the spot. I most certainly hadn’t been drinking on the train before the match.’

A clearly agitated Wilkins was involved in a touchline row with Liverpool boss Rodgers at half-time.

And Fulham sources suggested that Wilkins had arrived at Craven Cottage not in the best condition having earlier travelled to and from Birmingham by train to watch Fulham Under 21s play Aston Villa.

Watching on: Fulham owner and chairman Shahid Khan (centre) and chief executive Alistair Mackintosh made changes to the managerial team last week

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Watching on: Fulham owner and chairman Shahid Khan (centre) and chief executive Alistair Mackintosh made changes to the managerial team last week

Tough time: Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher also suffers from ulcerative colitis

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Tough time: Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher also suffers from ulcerative colitis

Wilkins was banned from driving for three years after a drink-driving conviction when he was found to be three times over the legal limit.

Fulham insiders also said that Meulensteen had tolerated Wilkins not being in the best shape for work on other occasions – seen as one of the reasons for the Dutchman being sacked after just 13 Premier League games.

The club’s sensitivity about the conduct of their management that night was due to American owner Shahid Khan being in attendance. And some of the players had voiced concern about whether Wilkins was well enough to carry on coaching.

Wilkins added: ‘I didn’t want to make a fuss about my illness, I didn’t tell Rene. Darren Fletcher said how hard it was to tell his team-mates. But I desperately want to carry on in football and there’s no chance of that happening if everyone gets the wrong impression that I have a drink problem.

‘I was very stupid about the drink-driving and I have had trouble with depression on occasions. But not since I was back in football. I was so excited about the Fulham challenge, but it’s all about results.’

Also leaving Fulham along with head coach Meulensteen, technical director Alan Curbishley and Wilkins are first-team coaches Jonathan Hill and Mick Priest, who were brought from Manchester United by Meulensteen.

***************************************************

Will Perry, the BBC’s Olympic Games reporter, should really look at his own puerile Twitter postings before using social media to criticise proper journalists in Sochi.

Getting it wrong: BBC’s Will Perry made some remarks on Twitter which he later delete

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Getting it wrong: BBC’s Will Perry made some remarks on Twitter which he later delete

Perry, an Old Harrovian heir to a family fortune, thought it appropriate to make banal fun of German ski jumper Andreas Wank’s name. The BBC made no comment but the relevant Twitter comments were deleted immediately they were made aware of them.

Lord’s have officially invited England outcast Kevin Pietersen to play in their showcase MCC v Rest of the World match on July 5 to mark 200 years of cricket on the ground.

Pietersen has yet to reply, but the MCC’s decision to pick him so soon after he was dumped by the national selectors is not likely to go down well with the England Cricket Board, also headquartered at Lord’s.

Especially as Rest of the World captain Shane Warne can be guaranteed to use the platform to berate England yet again for ditching KP and keeping Alastair Cook as captain.

The 2015 Rugby World Cup has had a difficult time organising their venues, especially with Old Trafford opting out at the last moment. But the corporate hospitality and international travel packages have gone off the scale in the first six weeks on the market.

The £30million of business is more than the London Olympics or the Brazil World Cup managed in a similar period.

Meanwhile, Events International being fined £12,000 for the illegal selling of tickets at London 2012 has not prevented the company being appointed the official corporate hospitality operators for the Comonwealth Games.

A Glasgow 2014 spokeswoman said: ‘The unauthorised ticket selling was not in any way deliberate and compliance procedures were fully reviewed to ensure such an occurrence would not arise in future.’

—Daily Mail