The Republic of Ireland’s behind-closed-doors match against Colombia in preparation for the Women’s World Cup was abandoned after 20 minutes for becoming “overly physical”, the Football Association of Ireland has said.
The decision was made after a number of rough challenges in Friday’s contest at Brisbane’s Meakin Park, and the key Ireland midfielder Denise O’Sullivan suffered bad bruising, although scans on Saturday cleared her of any break or fracture.
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Coach Vera Pauw said on Saturday that she hoped O’Sullivan will be fit for her side’s opening game against Australia in Sydney on Thursday, after initially fearing the player’s tournament might have been over.
“She went to hospital and we still have hope she can make it. There was risk of a big injury. Doctors feared that last night but that the X-ray showed there is hope,” Pauw said.
“The first 48 hours are the most important on soft tissue injury. Being above her ankle is a good thing. She is off her feet. We have good hopes. It’s too early to say. Last night we thought it might be over.”
Pauw said her team knew how to handle physicality, but drew the line once that strayed outside the laws of the game.
“There were moments from the other side that Ruesha [Littlejohn] got a huge tackle and could have been injured,” she said. “It took a few minutes to restart and two minutes later a huge challenge on Denise that was not within laws of the game. She was in awful pain.
“That created an atmosphere that I didn’t think from those 10 minutes it would be right. Players were extremely upset.”
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Colombia said Ireland had “preferred not to continue playing” and defended their players’ behaviour. “Although all the processes and training of our teams are framed within the rules of the game, healthy competition and fair play, among others, we respect the decision of our rival team,” a statement said.
Colombia are due to play China in a friendly before facing South Korea in their first World Cup fixture.
