Northern Ireland duo in plane fight

NORTHERN IRELAND stars Keith Gillespie and George McCartney were involved in a fight on an aeroplane before it flew the team from Iceland to London.

The altercation came after a verbal exchange and punches were thrown before other players were forced to intervene. Cabin crew staff reported the incident to Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington before the flight took off.

The Irish Football Association plans to take action following the incident that came hours after a Euro 2008 qualifier.

“An incident occurred between team members of the senior Northern Ireland squad of which the president (Raymond Kennedy) and chief executive (Howard Wells) are aware,” said an IFA statement. “Both the president and the chief executive will investigate the situation and take appropriate action.”

Northern Ireland’s hopes of making the Euro 2008 finals are fading after Gillespie’s late own goal gave Iceland a 2-1 victory in Reykjavik.

The Sheffield United winger made his international debut in 1994 and scored twice in 78 appearances.

West Ham defender McCartney, who ended a 26-month exile when Worthington took over from Lawrie Sanchez, won his 25th cap in Wednesday night’s Group F game.

Nevertheless, Gillespie firmly believes Northern Ireland’s bid to reach Euro 2008 is still alive and kicking.

With Group F matches to come against Sweden, Denmark and Spain the odds would seem to be stacked against the province.

However, Gillespie insists they can take plenty of heart from the 2-1 defeat by Iceland, which came four days after losing to Latvia.

“We have still got something to play for,” said the Sheffield United winger, who won his 78th cap in Reykjavik.

“Who says we cannot do it? If we play like we did in Iceland then we can give Sweden a game for a start.

“Of course it is now difficult for us but there were a lot of positives from this game.”