Brady: too much pressure on referee

LIAM BRADY was clearly incensed in the immediate aftermath of Ireland’s cruel defeat by France and, 12 hours later, was still struggling to come to terms with the result.

“Over the two games we probably deserved to win,” he said. “It hinged on a refereeing decision that was not correct but what can you do? I would not blame any player, I would not blame Thierry Henry for what he did.

“I would maybe look at what happened three months before when the seedings for these play-offs were made to favour the bigger teams, France, Portugal, Germany or Russia. I would ask why that went on? And the pressure on the referees is enormous then. Why was the draw seeded? Well, I think that is obvious.”