Martin O’Neill has claimed Seamus Coleman’s broken leg may not have happened if Gareth Bale had been sent off moments earlier in Wales’ World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.
As the accusations and recriminations continue following last Friday’s clash in Dublin, the Ireland manager has suggested a Bale sending off may have cooled the temperature of a fiery match that was over-heating.
The Real Madrid star was booked for a rash challenge on defender John O’Shea seconds before team-mate Taylor launched the tackle which left Coleman with a double leg fracture during the 0-0 draw at the Aviva Stadium.
Asked if he thought there was a possibility that Coleman might not have suffered his injury had referee Nicola Rizzoli taken stronger action moments earlier against Bale, O’Neill said: “He may not have done, that is true.
“The referee is in charge of the game, that’s the point. As I mentioned there, I thought both challenges, when I have seen them back, have been very, very poor indeed.”
Wales boss Chris Coleman later defended both men – by his own admission having not had a chance to view replays of the two incidents – and revealed Bale had raised the possibility of contesting the yellow card which will see him miss June’s trip to Group D leaders Serbia through suspension, although an appeal can only be made on the grounds of mistaken identity.
But O’Neill added: “I can’t see how they could possibly think about appealing a card when it was very, very close to being red and on another day, the referee could have easily given a red card.
“I will reiterate – I don’t think anybody could disagree – both challenges were very, very poor.”
Seamus Coleman faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines as he recovers from surgery to pin the broken tibia and fibula in his right leg with O’Neill bemoaning the loss of ‘one of the best full-backs in Europe’.
The manager is not putting any time-frame on the Everton defender’s rehabilitation but is all but resigned to his absence for the remainder of the qualifying campaign, with Derby’s Cyrus Christie likely to get a chance to prove himself as his deputy in Tuesday night’s friendly against Iceland.
O’Neill added: “We have got games coming up in September and October and my own view is that I think it would be a long shot if he was making those games.
“Seamus is very hard to replace – he is one of the best full-backs in Europe – and he has been inspirational, really, particularly since he has taken over as captain. He has been terrific, so he will be very hard to replace.
“Cyrus Christie is a very, very good player, a very talented player, very strong going forward and it’s really up to him.
“I think he is capable of talking that step and the times that he’s played for us before, he’s done very well. He scored a very important goal against Gibraltar (during qualifying for Euro 2016) in the away game and a couple of minutes later, he headed one off the line, so he has had a contribution and it is up to him now.”
