SUNDERLAND midfielder Dwight Yorke has refused to act as a peacemaker in the escalating row that has seen fellow Black Cat Carlos Edwards refuse to play for trouble-torn Trinidad & Tobago this summer.

Edwards, who had been expected to lead the Soca Warriors in this month's Concacaf Gold Cup in the United States, is one of a number of senior players who are currently on strike in protest at missing bonus payments following last summer's appearance in the World Cup finals.

While the Sunderland winger is not in direct disagreement with the Trinidadian authorities, he has agreed to support his aggrieved team-mates as part of their strike action.

Edwards sat in the stands alongside established internationals such as Jason Scotland, Clayton Ince and Dennis Lawrence as Trinidad & Tobago completed their Gold Cup warm-up programme with an appearance in the Digicel Cup last month.

He was absent when Wim Rijsbergen's squad re-convened earlier this week, and is now expected to make an unscheduled return to England if the current dispute is not resolved amicably this month.

It had been hoped that an intervention from Yorke would bring both parties back to the negotiating table and, last week, T&T officials urged the veteran midfielder to make a brief return to international football.

But after announcing his retirement from the international game this spring, Yorke has steadfastly refused to get involved, claiming that he supports his former team-mates' action and will not act on the authorities' behalf. Sunderland striker Stern John is understood to have adopted a similar view.

"It's frustrating, but we've been dealing with this for ten months," said Rijsbergen, who had been planning to hand Edwards the captain's armband ahead of his side's opening Gold Cup game.

"There were talks between the federation and the players, and I thought it would be solved." Rijsbergen has subsequently been forced to call up a number of amateur players still based in the Caribbean as he attempts to assemble a Gold Cup squad, but Trinidad & Tobago's loss could yet be Sunderland's gain.

Edwards missed a significant chunk of last season with a shoulder injury, and Black Cats boss Roy Keane, who is preparing to make a formal offer for West Brom full-back Paul McShane, would be delighted if the former Luton midfielder spent this summer relaxing rather than laying his body on the line in a competitive international tournament.