McCarthy fails to answer call

JAMES McCARTHY’S future as an Ireland international is back on the agenda with a vengeance after the player failed to respond to his call-up to the latest squad.

The news, which has completely overshadowed tonight’s Carling Cup game against Northern Ireland, emerged cryptically at first yesterday when, in the course of his pre-match press conference in Dublin, Giovanni Trapattoni revealed: “Someone has been called up and hasn’t answered yet.”

The manager said that he was not prepared to name the player but, by a process of elimination, journalists quickly worked out that the missing man was Wigan midfielder McCarthy, who played a full 90 minutes on Sunday in the victory over Stoke City which kept his club in the Barclays Premier League.

After Trapattoni’s press conference yesterday, McCarthy was conspicuous by his absence from a squad training session at a wind-blown Gannon Park, as it emerged that there had been no contact whatsoever from the player since Wigan were notified by fax of his call-up as far back as May 4. However, when the media looked again for confirmation of the player’s identity from Trapattoni, an FAI spokesman said that the manager did not wish to comment.

On a previous occasion, Trapattoni had admitted that he did not have a telephone number for McCarthy but, yesterday, sources confirmed that the manager has been in possession of the number since at least March when McCarthy was last in the Irish squad. An FAI source also said that numerous attempts had been made to contact the player since the latest squad was announced at the start of the month.

In the absence yesterday of any official explanation from the player or his representatives about his no-show, and pending some sort of plausible light being shed on the mystery over the coming hours and days, it seems McCarthy must now be considered out of the running for the European Championship qualifier against Macedonia on June 4.

This latest twist in the tale was wholly unexpected since the protracted saga involving the Glasgow-born 20-year-old’s eligibility for both Ireland and Scotland was finally resolved in the former’s favour when he was capped as a late substitute in the game against Macedonia in the Aviva Stadium in March.

Before that match, which marked his competitive debut, McCarthy appeared to leave no-one in any doubt about his commitment to the cause. “I am and will remain a Republic of Ireland player and I want to help Ireland reach the Euro 2012 finals,” he said, comments which were yesterday being advanced by some to argue that this latest shock development must surely owe more to cock-up than conspiracy.

Meanwhile, Trapattoni was expressing frustration about his dealings with some other Irish players who have repeatedly pulled out of squads with injuries, including Leon Best (“He’s fit or he’s not fit? Sometimes answers yes or no”) and Caleb Folan (“You know how many texts I send him?”). The manager was responding to a question about Anthony Stokes’ withdrawal from the latest squad on the grounds of fatigue and it prompted a heartfelt plea for footballers to realise how lucky they are to be paid to play the game.

“We must educate young players,” he said. “Our job, professional football, it’s a fun job, it’s not like the job of the working man.

Which job is there better than football? Not rugby because you get hit! I don’t understand. Football is like an 11-month holiday.

“We have to realise we’re lucky. It’s the life of Riley.”