Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Ireland withdraws again
Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland has withdrawn from the Republic of Ireland's squad to play Germany and Cyprus in Euro 2008 qualifiers.
Ireland has claimed he "would not do his country or himself justice" in the wake of his controversial withdrawal from the last qualifier against the Czech Republic in September, when he claimed his grandmother had died, a statement which was later found to be not true.
He later admitted he made the story up in order to be with his girlfriend, who had suffered a miscarriage.
"I have thought long and hard about whether I would do my country and myself justice if I joined up with the squad," said Ireland.
"Unfortunately, I don't believe I would on this occasion. The support I have received from Steve Staunton and the FAI has been excellent and everybody at Manchester City has also been superb. However, I do not believe I can make a positive contribution to our efforts to qualify."
Ireland has claimed he "would not do his country or himself justice" in the wake of his controversial withdrawal from the last qualifier against the Czech Republic in September, when he claimed his grandmother had died, a statement which was later found to be not true.
He later admitted he made the story up in order to be with his girlfriend, who had suffered a miscarriage.
"I have thought long and hard about whether I would do my country and myself justice if I joined up with the squad," said Ireland.
"Unfortunately, I don't believe I would on this occasion. The support I have received from Steve Staunton and the FAI has been excellent and everybody at Manchester City has also been superb. However, I do not believe I can make a positive contribution to our efforts to qualify."
