John Fallon: Scrutiny of Littlejohn antics fair game in such an open match

Those moralising about the relevance of the breakup of Katie McCabe and Irish teammate Ruesha Littlejohn, and its fallout, ought to recall how their love story first came into the public domain 

FLASH POINT: Ruesha Littlejohn of Republic of Ireland and Caitlin Foord of Australia tussle after the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Group B match between Australia and Republic of Ireland at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

It's the delicate ones that are the most difficult one to deal with, that space between the professional and personal that sports people seldom dwell.

Back in June 2019, the domestic football scene was in a vacuum. All of the attention was on Ireland's Euro qualifier in Denmark and that's where the press pack descended on to witness the crunch test of Mick McCarthy's second spell at the helm.