James McCarthy M free agent b.1990

[DannyInvincible]

Tardelli reveals McCarthy has an ankle problem today (Weds).

FAI have confirmed Wigan told them about the injury on Sunday.

So has Alan Byrne, the FAI's doctor, amended the original diagnosis he made upon seeing the scans that McCarthy's injury wasn't serious enough to keep him out or what? Has McCarthy actually sustained an injury that will keep him out for three or four weeks?

[BonnieShels]

Taking to the bench with injury; even more committed!

Wait til he's dead though and see what he's really made of... Injury, pah!

[Alf Honn]

So has Alan Byrne, the FAI's doctor, amended the original diagnosis he made upon seeing the scans that McCarthy's injury wasn't serious enough to keep him out or what? Has McCarthy actually sustained an injury that will keep him out for three or four weeks?


From the Irish Times:

Trapattoni knew more than he revealed on Monday, because what was received the previous night (Sunday) was a text from Wigan claiming the ankle injury was sustained during the 1-0 win over Stoke City, of which McCarthy played 90 minutes, and a scan would follow.
“The Irish team doctor responded that evening to ask when the scan would be carried out,” explained an extraordinarily specific FAI communiqué circulated during the game, “and Wigan replied that they would send it the following day (Monday). On Monday at 6.37pm the Irish team doctor received an email from Wigan with a scan which showed no evidence of significant injury. At 6.39pm the Irish team doctor replied to ask when the player would be reporting.
“No response has been received since and the FAI has written to Wigan today (Tuesday) regarding the matter.”

The mystery here is why didn't Trap enlighten the public on Monday about the news from Wigan sent the previous night? The official line then was that neither Wigan or McCarthy has made any contact. The FAI statement issued above on Tuesday contradicts that account given on Monday.

This statement only emerged after Martinez had confirmed McCarthy's injury in the Wigan press and said the FAI 'were already well aware' of it.

[Noelys Guitar]

Republic of Ireland the ongoing reality series. Part 11.

[TrapAPony]

Addressing the FAI’s querying of Wigan’s medical assessment of McCarthy, Tardelli said: "It’s not that they (the FAI) didn’t believe him but the scan which they received didn’t give a clear sign of a bad injury or a difficult injury. What we are saying is he could have come in (and been assessed by the FAI’s medical staff) and then gone back to his club."

But then he quickly moved on to what, as far as the Irish management is concerned, is regarded as the heart of the matter.

"The problem with James McCarthy is not if he comes or not, the problem is the behaviour," he said. "Mary O’Brien (of the FAI’s International Department) sent him the message and he never answered. Mary O’Brien is a woman who works for the FAI.

"She needs respect. Also you (the media) need respect. Why you ask me always about James McCarthy? Ask James McCarthy. We respect allplayers. We deserve respect like the Irish people, the journalists, the FAI and Mary O’Brien. Giovanni and I went to Wigan in a car, a three hour journey (to meet McCarthy).

"We spoke with James. I think the FAI, Giovanni, me, we need all Irish players. James McCarthy has a problem, he has an injury. The season for James McCarthy was very hard. He played with the problem in his ankle. I believe him, I believe(Anthony) Stokes, I believe the other players. But sometimes it’s possible to come here to be assessed by the doctor and then go back. "For us, there isn’t any problem."

Tardelli insisted that this week’s controversy does not mean that the Ireland management team will not call up the players concerned again. However, by emphasising the commitment of the players who have been in camp, he implied that the missing men will have their work cut out to make up lost ground, "If McCarthy, Waters and Wilson come here and are injured, and others come in and do well, then we must decide," he said. " If (Stephen) Ward plays well, scores a goal, why must I pickWilson? I will pick the player who is better at that moment. But every player has a future in the Ireland team."
http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/tardelli-show-some-respect-155793.html

[DannyInvincible]

Maybe the FAI impose their own obligations upon players when it comes to medical examination, but there's a bit in this article about the actual obligations upon players under FIFA's regulations when it comes to such examination: http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/fai-should-have-been-more-understanding--martinez-155792.html#ixzz1NQ2NnD9p


Annex One of FIFA’s ‘Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players’ states that any injured player "shall, if the national association so requires, agree to undergo a medical examination by a doctor of that association’s choice".

But it then immediately follows that "if the player so wishes, such medical examination shall take place on the territory of the association at which he is registered".

As such, the burden of obligation is open to interpretation.

Am I correct in assuming that McCarthy's reported non-communication with the FAI for a couple of weeks is no longer an issue then given that it is now accepted by the FAI that they received word from Wigan on Sunday evening, a day before Trapattoni strangely alleged the FAI hadn't received contact for quite some time; that the issue now is whether the injury is actually genuine and whether he should have travelled to Dublin regardless of scans in Wigan or not to undergo an assessment with the FAI's doctor? Or has Tardelli effectively acknowledged that the injury is genuine but is still arguing that McCarthy should have seen the FAI doctor nevertheless?
Yours sincerely,
Confused.

[Deckydee]

http://www.sportsnewsireland.com/soccer_irish/27618/

[Stuttgart88]

Dumb article. Players not returning calls or texts is a lack of class.

Of course there's common sense in letting players rest after a hard season, but coming over to a posh hotel beside the sea isn't hard work. They can train and play according to their state of fitness and well being. Trap could or should have given some players slack to arrive late. But blanking the manager and the FAI is the real lack of class.

[ifk101]

Beat me to it Stuttgart88. Terrible article. The issue is a lack of common courtesy on the part of the players.

[DannyInvincible]

http://www.sportsnewsireland.com/soccer_irish/27618/

I would argue that this was as "proper" a game as any, even if there is a glitzy Champions League final coming up at the weekend, whatever the relevance of that to us is. This guy appears to be justifying players "turning their backs" on Ireland after "long seasons" in a "cut-throat, professional game", even, it would appear, if they were not injured, as he gives no mention to that possibility. It's essential that our players play and spend as much time as possible together, especially now as we've an extremely important Euro qualifier coming up against Macedonia in Skopje on Saturday week. Fair enough, the timing of this round of games was poorly organised but the Wolves contingent had no problems coming over and performing fantastically. They'd had a relegation dog-fight on Sunday as well.


[Trapattoni] has developed a habit of late of sounding off about his players in the media and a compliant press, who appear in awe of him because he is Italian, give him an open forum. Look at Sir Alex Ferguson as a comparison. He won’t take any criticism about his players. He gets that loyalty that Trappatoni appears not to.

Would Ferguson be so protective if his players failed to show up for training and, as he understood, without explanation? I do acknowledge that Wigan contacted the FAI on Sunday but it appears Trapattoni wasn't the slightest bit aware of this during the Monday press conference for whatever reason. From his perspective, he had a right to be miffed at the time as it would have been his belief that McCarthy was ignoring him.

I'll ignore the silly comment accusing the FAI of "poaching" and "openly approaching" northern players bar rejecting it as I don't want to be the one who takes another topic off course. :p

[DannyInvincible]

Not sure if there's any extra info here or if it was already out there and has been mentioned: http://www.sportinglife.com/football/international/republic/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/11/05/25/SOCCER_Republic_McCarthy_Nightlead.html&TEAMHD=eire&BID=251


Trapattoni's assistant coach Marco Tardelli attempted to clarify the situation on Wednesday but, in a fractious press conference, he achieved little of the sort with some unclear statements.

The Italian said: "Every player has a future in the Irish team. Why not? The problem with James McCarthy was that the message was never answered.

"I don't know if there is an injury or not - I believe he is injured.

"He is a young player and he wants to come here to play, but maybe he is injured. We believe him. Giovanni never doubted there was an injury.

"It is not that they didn't believe it but the scan we received didn't give a clear sign of a bad injury.

"He could have come, been assessed and then gone back to his club."

[gastric]

Daniel McDonnell highly critical of McCarthy and Wilson!

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/generation-game-2658230.html

[Kingdom]

A YBIG'er is saying he's available for selection on Sunday. He's a known troll though, goes by the name, The Muppet. Make of that what you will.

[SwanVsDalton]

Am I correct in assuming that McCarthy's reported non-communication with the FAI for a couple of weeks is no longer an issue then given that it is now accepted by the FAI that they received word from Wigan on Sunday evening, a day before Trapattoni strangely alleged the FAI hadn't received contact for quite some time; that the issue now is whether the injury is actually genuine and whether he should have travelled to Dublin regardless of scans in Wigan or not to undergo an assessment with the FAI's doctor? Or has Tardelli effectively acknowledged that the injury is genuine but is still arguing that McCarthy should have seen the FAI doctor nevertheless?

This is a source of much of my confusion too. Trap was either unaware of Wigan's communication (which likely means someone at the FAI fudged up) or he deliberately ignored it, probably on the basis of 'if the player doesn't turn up to be assessed or doesn't talk directly, then he's absent'. It may also be partly a case of calling Wigan's bluff - with Trap downright annoyed at the no-show, he probably refused to believe the injury until he saw it for himself.

Either way I don't really see how people can discredit Trap for this - we shouldn't put up with this kind of nonsense from players. Sure the game was badly timed, but we have a crucial qualifier in just over a week. If anyone has a desire to be involved in that game, they should have been here. And as Stutts mentioned, it's downright disrespectful and a real lack of class they seemingly didn't let anyone know.

[Stuttgart88]

In the Examiner Taerdelli is saying that the real problem was McCarthy not responding to Mary O'Brien's efforts to co-ordinate travel plans.

It seems that Walters is off the hook, but definitely finished for the season.

[elroy]

Lets cut to the chase here. McCarthy isnt injured and wasnt injured either if you ask me. That was a BS story created by Wigan. Why he hasnt travelled over I dont know. Is it because of the end of season celebrations, a want not to play against Scotland or a dislike of Trap or even worse apathy towards playing for Ireland.

I dont know. But personally Im starting to think this young lad has been a lot more hassle than his worth so far. Not responding to the calls is ridiculous, not to mention rude and arrogant. If he and the others wanted an extra couple of days before coming over, the least they could have done is requested so, im sure it wouldve been accomodated.

[geysir]

The deliberate non communication from McCarthy before the game is an issue but not a hanging offense on its own.
That was followed by his club sending inconclusive scans, followed by more deliberate non-communication from McCarthy.
No wonder there was a level of deep skepticism on this side. Whatever the issue between player and management, there has to be trust established and James is still on probation since previous times.

In his Indo article O'Donnell goes onto blame Trap for
'In the past, Trapattoni was to blame for some confusing public statements which could have been solved by making an attempt to contact the player directly.
Stubbornly, he refused to do so, until the February circus over his international allegiance got out of hand. Trapattoni broke from his usual modus operandi to fly from Italy to sort things out.´

Quite frankly, I thought O'Donnell's analysis was bull at the time and more so now in the light of McCarthy's continued taciturnity after Trap and Tardelli met McCarthy and the game against Macedonia.

[gastric]

The deliberate non communication from McCarthy before the game is an issue but not a hanging offense on its own.
That was followed by his club sending inconclusive scans, followed by more deliberate non-communication from McCarthy.
No wonder there was a level of deep skepticism on this side. Whatever the issue between player and management, there has to be trust established and James is still on probation since previous times.

In his Indo article O'Donnell goes onto blame Trap for
'In the past, Trapattoni was to blame for some confusing public statements which could have been solved by making an attempt to contact the player directly.
Stubbornly, he refused to do so, until the February circus over his international allegiance got out of hand. Trapattoni broke from his usual modus operandi to fly from Italy to sort things out.´

Quite frankly, I thought O'Donnell's analysis was bull at the time and more so now in the light of McCarthy's continued taciturnity after Trap and Tardelli met McCarthy and the game against Macedonia.


geysir, this is what happens when Daniel O' Donnell writes football articles!

[Duggie]

ya its simple you get called over you turn up or at worst make call to say why in person. if he didnt want to play against scotland then why didnt he go join up with them in the first place. hes qualified now for us so hes making it very awkward for himself..that or he will do a stephen ireland on it and just end up staying away.

[Sullivinho]

Lets cut to the chase here. McCarthy isnt injured and wasnt injured either if you ask me. That was a BS story created by Wigan. Why he hasnt travelled over I dont know. Is it because of the end of season celebrations, a want not to play against Scotland or a dislike of Trap or even worse apathy towards playing for Ireland.

He's about as injured as you and I are. I reckon it was decided that he'd be nowhere near these end of season games. Martinez's "He'll decide in the summer" line comes back to mind. James headed off to dance on tables and whatnot, safe in the knowledge that his club would handle any 'communication' with the FAI but things got fudged and Ireland ultimately called Wigan's bluff on the issue. I find it hard to believe that McCarthy himself would just completely blank the FAI and expect there wouldn't be any issues over that, especially after the hullabaloo earlier in the year. I'd like to know if the FAI have a direct line of contact with him or are still going through Wigan who never struck me as the most helpful of intermediaries.

[Crosby87]

So with all this said and the links of the last couple of pages, gun to your head, will he be in the June 4th Squad or not?

[SwanVsDalton]

No. He's 'injured'. If he was to turn up, it'd be a tacit admission he and Wigan lied.

[Duggie]

So with all this said and the links of the last couple of pages, gun to your head, will he be in the June 4th Squad or not?

who knows but i wont be annoyed with trap if he isnt, he more than likely wouldnt play anyway. maybe if hes left out for a few games he might answer his phone next time.

[DannyInvincible]

Lets cut to the chase here. McCarthy isnt injured and wasnt injured either if you ask me. That was a BS story created by Wigan. Why he hasnt travelled over I dont know. Is it because of the end of season celebrations, a want not to play against Scotland or a dislike of Trap or even worse apathy towards playing for Ireland.

I dont know. But personally Im starting to think this young lad has been a lot more hassle than his worth so far. Not responding to the calls is ridiculous, not to mention rude and arrogant. If he and the others wanted an extra couple of days before coming over, the least they could have done is requested so, im sure it wouldve been accomodated.

Would we settle for that though? I know he pulled out altogether rather than asking for a few extra days of rest, but Stokes calling in "tired" has pretty much finished him with the fans.

One thing that seems pretty clear by now is that Wigan are a club hostile to the "unnecessary nuisance" of international football. No doubt, Martinez has an influence on McCarthy as his manager and will try his best to keep such a valuable asset to Wigan as far away from international football as possible.

[Planners]

would you blame a player for not turning up for the standard of football would be hard to motivate any body to play.the football is shocking.

[kev mcq]

would you blame a player for not turning up for the standard of football would be hard to motivate any body to play.the football is shocking.

Yeah cause Wigan are just fantastic aren't they?

[Planners]

wigan are no arsenal but the football we play is as bad as i have ever seen.we are gone back to early 90 with this style of football sure the fans are not enjoying it thats way no body turns up and i dont think many watch this rubbish on tv.who would you compare us to not many teams use this style.

[Charlie Darwin]

We've played some OK football in recent matches. Since the run-around we got against Russia I think there's finally been a realisation we need to play with the ball at out feet rather than the opposition's for 89 minutes.

[cufc champions]

While against very poor opposition tuesday night some of the interplay in midfield and link up to the strikers was excellent although i would prefer if Keane showed to feet in stead of looking for balls over the top everytime which are hard to pull of at that that level. Hopefully a decent performance v Scotland Sunday will set us up for a much needed away win v Macedonia.

[weldoninhio]

If one player breaks ranks you can blame the player, when this many do it you have to wonder what the manager is doing to make so many young men not want to even bother showing up for an international!!!

[Planners]

i agree something not right within the squad why would players work so hard to gain international caps and then not show up i dont think our manager has much trust in this bunch of players and i think they all know this and thats why they dont enjoy playing for this manager sure we would all love to play at this level you would be devasted to get there and then have a manager ruin it with rubbish football and an old school attitude.

[DannyInvincible]

i agree something not right within the squad why would players work so hard to gain international caps and then not show up i dont think our manager has much trust in this bunch of players and i think they all know this and thats why they dont enjoy playing for this manager sure we would all love to play at this level you would be devasted to get there and then have a manager ruin it with rubbish football and an old school attitude.

... And breathe.

[SwanVsDalton]

If one player breaks ranks you can blame the player, when this many do it you have to wonder what the manager is doing to make so many young men not want to even bother showing up for an international!!!

Sexual abuse?


i agree something not right within the squad why would players work so hard to gain international caps and then not show up i dont think our manager has much trust in this bunch of players and i think they all know this and thats why they dont enjoy playing for this manager sure we would all love to play at this level you would be devasted to get there and then have a manager ruin it with rubbish football and an old school attitude.

I don't know - I believe Trap could find a suitably skilled Italian tailor to hide the tail, but does he have enough hair to comb over his horns?

[Planners]

...cheers nearly collapsed..you wonder why we care so much

[lionelhutz]

McCarthy wouldn't have started in Macedonia anyway. We should really be discussing the players who are in the running to play. Who will start centre mid? I'd say he'll go with Gibson and Whelan again. I don't think Andrews is good enough and he doesn't seem to trust Fahey in the middle, although I would love to see Fahey with Whelan.

[tricky_colour]

wigan are no arsenal but the football we play is as bad as i have ever seen.we are gone back to early 90 with this style of football sure the fans are not enjoying it thats way no body turns up and i dont think many watch this rubbish on tv.who would you compare us to not many teams use this style.

I enjoyed the 5 goals!!

[Sullivinho]

would you blame a player for not turning up for the standard of football would be hard to motivate any body to play.the football is shocking.

The weather's been fairly ****e here for the past week or so. If it doesn't improve by the weekend...I'm done being Irish. Enough is enough.

[Jinxy]

If one player breaks ranks you can blame the player, when this many do it you have to wonder what the manager is doing to make so many young men not want to even bother showing up for an international!!!

I'd disagree to be honest.
I think the desire to play for 'your' country we used to take for granted just isn't there amongst some of the younger players.
They'll play alright, but only on their terms.

[DannyInvincible]

Some really alarmist and presumptious comments here lately. Needless really. I've no reason to doubt that international football is still the pinnacle of most footballers' careers. Why would you say otherwise? You'll always have an idiot or two like Stephen Ireland or, most lately, Anthony Stokes, but they're exceptions to the norm more than anything. Hasn't the history of the Netherlands team, for example, has been littered with silly spats and exiles down through the years or am I overstating it slightly? It's not a new phenomenon regardless. As for some alleged problem with Trapattoni's persona being the root cause of these no-shows, I wouldn't really give that much weight. The current friendlies were badly-timed. McCarthy and Wilson might actually be injured if we're to give them the benefit of the doubt. McCarthy's club and his manager have appeared hostile to the notion of international football in the past and are obviously keen to keep him well away from "needless friendlies" whilst he still remains one of their most valuable assets. I'd give more weight to these as possible factors or reasons for the players non-appearance than something being wrong with Trapattoni. As for Wilson, I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt for now as, considering his position, it would be suicidal for him to feign injury when these friendlies give him the chance to get a foot into that left back slot that'll need filling for the next few years to come once Kilbane hangs up his boots.

[SwanVsDalton]

Some really alarmist and presumptious comments here lately. Needless really. I've no reason to doubt that international football is still the pinnacle of most footballers' careers. Why would you say otherwise? You'll always have an idiot or two like Stephen Ireland or, most lately, Anthony Stokes, but they're exceptions to the norm more than anything. Hasn't the history of the Netherlands team, for example, has been littered with silly spats and exiles down through the years or am I overstating it slightly? It's not a new phenomenon regardless. As for some alleged problem with Trapattoni's persona being the root cause of these no-shows, I wouldn't really give that much weight. The current friendlies were badly-timed. McCarthy and Wilson might actually be injured if we're to give them the benefit of the doubt. McCarthy's club and his manager have appeared hostile to the notion of international football in the past and are obviously keen to keep him well away from "needless friendlies" whilst he still remains one of their most valuable assets. I'd give more weight to these as possible factors or reasons for the players non-appearance than something being wrong with Trapattoni. As for Wilson, I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt for now as, considering his position, it would be suicidal for him to feign injury when these friendlies give him the chance to get a foot into that left back slot that'll need filling for the next few years to come once Kilbane hangs up his boots.

Good post DI, but I doubt it's worth it...

[DannyInvincible]

GreenScene have written up a 'The James McCarthy No-Show for Idiots': http://greenscene.me/2011/05/james-mccarthy-no-show-the-facts/

I'm even going to have a read myself. :o

[DannyInvincible]

Another piece from Carl O'Malley in the Irish Times: http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/deadrubber/2011/05/26/mixed-messages-not-helping-anyone/


Admittedly, [the NI post-match] press conference was hugely entertaining but it was confusing too. At one point, Trapattoni suggested they had not seen the scan sent by Wigan for McCarthy, but he was corrected and informed an FAI doctor had. Now, it could be that Trap was saying he had not seen it, which is fine, but at some point the FAI press team should step in and make sure there is no doubt in people’s minds that a scan was received and dismissed, as was asserted in the statement.

The situation arose again when Trap suggested Wilson was missing. After the conference one journalist checked to make sure this wasn’t the official line. It wasn’t, Stoke had been in contact claiming some sort of injury to the defender/midfielder and striker Jon Walters.

Trapattoni was fairly animated throughout the press conference, even more so than usual. Though he didn’t specifically say it was over for McCarthy, he did say this.

“They should come, be checked and then they can go back. This is for you and for the Irish people. This shouldn’t happen anywhere in the world. It’s impossible for me to understand this. This is the first time in all of my years I have seen a situation like this.”

He added: “John O’Shea, Shay Given, Robbie Keane and Richard Dunne who said ‘Mister I’m sorry, I can’t play.’ These are the players of Ireland. The other players are new. We discovered these. Where were they one or two years ago? Where?”

That’s fairly incendiary stuff. First of all, he suggests they have no respect for the country, the people and journalists (well we knew that last one), but he then suggests they were nothing without him. There really is only one conclusion to be drawn from this – that Trap has seen the last of the likes of McCarthy and Anthony Stokes, at least, and maybe Wilson. I haven’t mentioned Stokes until now because he barely warrants the time or space, his excuse of “tiredness” for not turning up pathetic.

This brings us on to Tardelli. The assistant manager claimed yesterday that Trapattoni “spoke about the behaviour of the players. He never doubted whether they were injured.”

Now, this is a bizarre u-turn from a little over 12 hours beforehand. Granted, Trapattoni seemed to skirt around the FAI’s doubts over injury reports, preferring to focus on desire and respect, but he gave his blessing to the email circulated in the first half and Tardelli subsequently contradicted the association’s stance.

“Why not?”

That was his response when asked would the players in question ever play for Ireland again. Well, here’s why not. The manager questioned their desire, honesty and respect for the country and its people. Even if the manager has toned down the rhetoric and offers another chance to them in August, say, will they want to return?

Interestingly, Trapattoni was asked during that post-match press conference whether some of the younger players had lost respect for him. A perfectly legitimate question considering the Italian suggested they had lost respect for the rest of us.

There was an audible ‘harrumph’ from a few rows back. It turned out to be Tardelli. Clearly the assistant manager thought the suggestion ridiculous. Yet yesterday, he said: “The players must show some respect, not just for Giovanni, but for the Irish people, the journalists, Mary O’Brien (of the association’s international department who liaises with players).” That is tacit acknowledgement they had not respected their manager.

Irish Times Soccer Correspondent Emmet Malone quite rightly calls for the appointment of some sort of respected former international to mediate between players and manager, but there is also an urgent need for some sort of coherent and consistent message to come from those in and around the management team. Often it seems quite clear that not everyone is on the same page.

This isn’t to excuse the behaviour of some of the younger players, who could do with some sort of PR team themselves, but it would be a lot easier to be more forthright in condemnation if one had full faith in the message coming from Trapattoni and his team.

At the moment, that is not the case.

Clearly, a lot of confusion for which the FAI must take a certain amount of responsibility. O'Malley suggests Trap has seen the last of McCarthy and Stokes, and maybe Wilson, due to remarks Trap made about them he considered "incendiary"; somewhat unfair on Trap, I feel, considering it does appear there's been a breach of respect here somewhere.

Not necessarily attacking Trapattoni's authority, but the intermediary idea aired by Malone seems a positive one. Maybe it would also be worth also investing in a press spokesman just to confirm the meaning behind Trap's often-ambiguous musings and spell out the official line on matters. At least it would pre-empt the need for press releases to clarify initial confusion, which can often have the effect of further muddying the waters when there's so much conflicting information flying around what is already a saturated environment. Trap's job is to manage the team, after all, not to act as an FAI press liaison.

[shakermaker1982]

How injured do you have to be to get out of travelling to Dublin to report to the doctor? I'm not trying to defend the players in question but if a player had a genuine injury is it necessary for a player to hop on a plane, report straight to the FAI doctor, get checked and then go home again?

Glad his ankle injury didn't impede his post game celebrations though! If there is a footage of him dancing on tables on youtube then his Irish career is over!!!

[DannyInvincible]

How injured do you have to be to get out of travelling to Dublin to report to the doctor? I'm not trying to defend the players in question but if a player had a genuine injury is it necessary for a player to hop on a plane, report straight to the FAI doctor, get checked and then go home again?

UEFA regulations don't oblige players to travel if they're playing and have been assessed in another territory. Whether or not the FAI have their own regulations on matters such as this, I'm not so sure, but it does appear they at least expected the players to travel to Dublin for examination.

[DannyInvincible]

Sorry, I should have said FIFA regulations.

The relevant bit is in part 4 of annexe 1 on page 34 of the 'Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players' here: http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/01/27/64/30/regulationsstatusandtransfer2010_e.pdf


4. Injured players
A player who due to injury or illness is unable to comply with a call-up from the association that he is eligible to represent on the basis of his nationality shall, if the association so requires, agree to undergo a medical examination by a doctor of that association’s choice. If the player so wishes, such medical examination shall take place on the territory of the association at which he is registered.

[Planners]

Look lads we all want the same thing a winning performance with our best players all in the squad with all the players and management going out with a positive attitude.

[geysir]

How injured do you have to be to get out of travelling to Dublin to report to the doctor? I'm not trying to defend the players in question but if a player had a genuine injury is it necessary for a player to hop on a plane, report straight to the FAI doctor, get checked and then go home again?

If Keith O'Neill had sent in a sick note, the FAI would have had to send an air ambulance over for him, if they wanted to see him for themselves.

[Kingdom]

How injured do you have to be to get out of travelling to Dublin to report to the doctor? I'm not trying to defend the players in question but if a player had a genuine injury is it necessary for a player to hop on a plane, report straight to the FAI doctor, get checked and then go home again?

Glad his ankle injury didn't impede his post game celebrations though! If there is a footage of him dancing on tables on youtube then his Irish career is over!!!

There is pictures of him out celebrating. That much has been seen over on ybig. And there does seem to be a few videos of the table dancing, but nothing seen yet.

[DeLorean]

Heavily liked with Liverpool (http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2011/05/27/2505474/liverpool-closing-in-on-10m-deal-for-wigan-athletic) today. Arsenal (http://www.sportsnewsireland.com/soccer_irish/27836/) also supposed to have joined the chase.

[Crosby87]

As long as Martinez doesn't follow him.