Martin O’Neill eases position on referee Nicola Rizzoli

Martin O’Neill has praised referee Nicola Rizzoli’s handling of the game against Wales and insisted that, while he still feels Gareth Bale’s challenge on John O’Shea merited a sending-off, the official’s decision to award only a yellow card for that incident cannot be linked in any way to the subsequent Neil Taylor tackle which broke Seamus Coleman’s leg.

In the highly-charged fall-out from Friday’s match, O’Neill had initially appeared to be taking a different line, but he now says he was preoccupied at that point with the shocking extent of Coleman’s injury and the implications for the player, his club and his country.

On further reflection, and having reviewed the match, O’Neill has come to the conclusion the Italian did “really fine” on the night.