Colombia midfielder Daniela Caracas added insult to Denise O’Sullivan’s injury by accusing Irish players of whinging after Vera Pauw took her team off the pitch 23 minutes into their final World Cup warm-up match.
O’Sullivan was taken to hospital near Brisbane with a shin injury following a challenge over the ball by an unnamed opponent.
“They are just girls, one little foul and they started complaining,” Caracas told fans afterwards. “They were having a chat amongst themselves to continue or not, so we weren’t going to hang around waiting for them.
“Let them eat s**t.”
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The last game before a World Cup always comes with a health warning. Twenty minutes into this uncapped “friendly” at Meakin Park, studs started gnashing like teeth with O’Sullivan repeatedly targeted.
The contest began normally enough, even if tensions were heightened off the pitch as the Irish media and Colombian fans were denied access to the ground. As a Colombian official flip-flopped on her reasoning for blocking entry to journalists, the senior Fifa person on site was unwilling to mediate.
The Irish team that will face Australia in front of 83,500 people at the old Olympic stadium next Thursday was well known until yesterday. It could now be a moot point, but the main debate centred on whether Ruesha Littlejohn or Lily Agg would be O’Sullivan’s central midfield partner.
The South Americans refused to release the names of the two players yellow-carded by Australian referee Caitlin Williams. The second booking forced O’Sullivan to undergo an emergency scan on her shin at St Andrew’s Hospital in Spring Hill, Queensland. She was accompanied by FAI physio Angela Kenneally.
At the point of O’Sullivan’s injury, Pauw had seen enough. Williams was instructed to abandon the game on 23 minutes as O’Sullivan was treated on the grass by Dr Siobhan Foreman.
But Caracas, who plays for Espanyol in Spain, insinuated that the Colombian team left the field first.
The FAI cited “overly physical” play as the reason for the walk-off. The Colombian football federation released a statement noting that Ireland “preferred not to continue”, adding that their players remain “framed within the rules of the game, healthy competition and fair play”.
The Irish media did not see the match as they were shut out by the Colombian federation. The general mood before the game was tetchy, with heated exchanges between Irish and Colombian officials before the teams arrived, as the only spectators allowed into the ground were local children and Pauw’s husband, the former Netherlands women’s manager Bert van Lingen.
A Fifa official cited a prior arrangement to play the game behind closed doors. “Both teams must be in agreement before any media can come in,” she said.
Seemingly, Colombia manager Nelson Abadía was concerned about his tactics being spread far and wide. His players were certainly ready for battle as many stormed off their team bus, a boom box blasting out tunes.
The FAI have footage of O’Sullivan’s injury which may never see the light of day, as this was an unofficial game.
Her importance to the group is almost indescribable. She is the rhythm, the tempo and the one who transitions defence into attack.
The FAI noted that “Ireland underwent a full training session to continue preparations” for the World Cup opener against Australia next Thursday. The squad departs Brisbane for Sydney on Tuesday. A grey cloud will follow them down the Gold Coast.
Meanwhile, in Melbourne, the Matildas beat France 1-0 in front of a record 50,629 fans at the Marvel stadium. Mary Fowler, whose father Kevin hails from Ballymun, came off the bench to score the winner.
