Paul McShane plays down Reading bust-up with Danny Williams

Ireland international Paul McShane has played down the friendly fire incident which has left him and his Reading team mate Danny Williams facing an FA charge of violent conduct — and a potential three-game ban — after the pair squared up to each other during televised coverage of team’s defeat to Middlebrough on Tuesday.

Fri, 15 Apr, 2016 - 01:00

Liam Mackey

Reading skipper McShane said yesterday: “It was done and dusted in two seconds. It was a two-second thing that spilt over, then we got back in position and got on with the game. That was the end of it.

“When it’s played in real time it looks like a coming together. It looks like we bounced, but when you slow it down it looks like a totally different incident. But there was no headbutt. It was a coming together. I put my head down, he kept his head up — it’s as simple as that.

“I love Danny, I love his passion and it was just one of those things that happened for two seconds. It was put to bed at the end of the game. We were talking after the match, we said sorry to each other and that was it.”

Asked if he felt it necessary to apologise to Reading supporters, McShane said: “I suppose you have to say sorry for those couple of seconds where it might have got out of hand. But we’re both passionate players and we want to do our best for Reading.

“Yes I can apologise for it spilling over for a couple of seconds but I can’t apologise for wanting to go on and win that game.”

Meanwhile, as he begins the long road to recovery after his dreadful leg break, McShane’s Ireland team mate Alan Judge has earned the consolation of being named as one of three nominees for the Championship Player of the Year award, in recognition of his consistently impressive performances for Brentford this season.

Judge has scored 14 league goals for the Bees in a remarkable season. The other nominations are Burnley’s Andre Gray and Fulham’s Ross McCormack. Gray, who previously played for Brentford, has scored 23 goals this season for the high-flying Clarets, while McCormack has scored 21 league goals in a season of struggle for the Cottagers.

The winner will be announced on April 17.