Ian Harte has labelled Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni a “clown” after he was left out of the international squad for their game against Poland in Dublin on Wednesday.

The 35-year-old Reading defender has amassed 63 senior caps for Ireland but has not featured for the national team since early 2007.

This has led many to inquire whether the former Leeds United player has retired from international football.

The answer appears to be a firm “no”, with Harte claiming on Twitter that he has not retired from international football and going on to accuse Trapattoni of not knowing that he was Irish.

Ian Harte says that Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni is a “clown”, see Harte’s #whataclown tweet below:

To all the people asking if I have retired from international football.no I haven’t trap didn’t even know I was Irish #whataclown

— Ian Harte(@ianharte23) February 5, 2013