Australian soccer legend Robbie Slater has described Harry Kewell's outburst towards him an 'overreaction'.
Speaking on a Fox Sports web chat on Wednesday, Slater defended his controversial article in Sydney's Sunday Telegraph which claimed that Kewell had been told to 'f... off' by a team-mate in South Africa and questioned his future with the national team.
Kewell angrily refuted the claims on Australian TV show Fox Sports FC on Tuesday night in a telephone interview which degenerated into a slanging match between the pair.
Slater has been criticised by some sections of the public but isn't surprised by the reaction.
"I'd expect the public to support Harry. He's an icon. But I have a right to an opinion. And I think my opinion was balance. And I think Harry's comments are a bit of an overreaction," said Slater, who became the first Australian to win the English Premier League with Blackburn Rovers in the 1994-95 season.
"I mentioned the comment to show there was disharmony in South Africa."
Slater also defended his right to protect his source in relation to the verbal barrage Kewell is rumoured to have received.
"I think it would be wrong for me to reveal the source. I'm not a career journalist, but it would be wrong for to name my source. And I'm not going to," he said.
"At the end of the day, there was many people who witnessed the incident. The incident was fairly common knowledge among the media in South Africa."
In the television interview, Kewell came across as childish and arrogant as he berated Slater with comments such as 'Are you jealous of me?' and accused the pundit of having a 'bitch' about the Australian team.
"I believe Harry's had an overreaction. It can't always be good, good, good. And let's face it, the World Cup was a disaster. I said it was a circus, and I stand by it. You know it's a circus when you're reading stories written by 'Harry's Groin'."
The television commentator also raised doubts over the Galatasaray star's involvement for the 2014 World Cup.
"The fact is Harry's always injured. We can't have another coach going into a World Cup with a star striker who hasn't played much since December."
"I'm not sure what influence he'll have, say in 2014."