Ref blast may haunt Martin O’Neill and James McClean

Manager Martin O’Neill and leading scorer James McClean could be banned for the last four matches of the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign after Fifa confirmed yesterday it has begun disciplinary proceedings against the pair for criticising the official who refereed the 1-1 draw against Austria in Dublin 10 days ago.

The two men have been given until Friday this week to respond to the charges of misconduct.

O’Neill described Spaniard David Fernández Borbalán as “very poor” in his post-match comments. “I didn’t think we got a decision all day,” the Ireland manager complained. “Any decisions seemed to go their [Austria’s] way.”