SO what are we to make of the upholding of that two-match ban on W***e R****y then? Right, wrong or, as leading human rights activist Rio Ferdinand would have it, the workings of a lynch mob?

I’M sure Giovanni Trapattoni doesn’t need any additional pressure going into tonight’s European Championship qualifier against Macedonia, but if he does chance to feel the hand of history on his shoulder this morning, it might just be because, on this day 25 years ago, the most celebrated period in Irish football history officially kicked off.

IN A world where we are constantly being told that everything we know is wrong, it has always been a relief to turn to the reliably comforting certainties of 11 against 11 and highest score wins. But no longer.

Hello? Excuse me? Sorry to butt in but …WILL YOU ALL STOP BANGING ON ABOUT BLOODY CRICKET FOR A MINUTE?!

AH, the wonder of Stevie. Just when we thought that Stephen Ireland might finally be ready to zip the lip and let his feet do the talking for a change, up he pops in a French football magazine with his most breathtaking verbal blitzkrieg yet.

I WAS sad to see my old mate Gennaro Gattuso in trouble this week.

IRELAND’S win against Wales on Wednesday, welcome and encouraging though it might have been, was placed in perspective by finding itself sandwiched between two thrilling trips down memory lane on ESPN Classic.

ONE way to put an end to a raging debate is, as they say in football, to put your foot through it.