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Support for Cook

Image: Aaron Cook: Reports suggest he has been left out of GB squad

John Cullen says Aaron Cook "must go" to the Olympics after reports that he has been left out of GB squad.

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Former British champion insists Cook must be chosen for 2012

John Cullen, former British champion, says Aaron Cook "must go" to the Olympics after it was reported that he has been left out of the home nation's taekwondo squad. Cullen said questions must be asked of those in charge of selection if he is omitted as he labelled Cook taekwondo's own Lionel Messi, referring to the star Barcelona footballer. Team GB Taekwondo have now delayed the announcement of their Olympic squad, originally set for Friday. This comes amid reports that Lutalo Muhammad has been selected ahead of European champion Cook in the under-80kg weight bracket with Cook set to appeal. Cook, 21, has trained separately from the Team GB set-up following a disappointing first-round exit at last year's World Championships in Korea.

Justifiable

However, Cullen believes omitting him from the squad on that basis would be the wrong decision, and he said: "He has to go. If it was any other country in the world, he would be picked. He is the world number one and has been the poster boy for our sport. "It's like Barcelona not picking Messi. In fact, he is the Lionel Messi of our sport and must go. If they have made this decision and it's not a sporting decision, or justifiable decision, then they have to be held to account. "For them not to select him would be either arrogance or incompetence." In the under-68kgs category, Liverpudlian Martin Stamper is expected to get the nomination with Wales teenager Jade Jones at under-57kgs. Bronze medallist at the 2008 Games in Beijing, Sarah Stevenson, is recovering from a knee operation and, should she not recover in time, understudy Bianca Walkden would step down into the under-67kgs. Neither Team GB Taekwondo nor the British Olympic Association have yet made any official comment, with no new date for the squad announcement confirmed.