‘I Feel Betrayed’ – Kevin Foley Upset At Last-Minute Axe From Ireland Euro 2012 Squad

Alan Duffy

30th, May 2012

8 Comments

By Alan Duffy

Having already had to deal with the trauma of relegation from the Premier League, poor old Wolves full-back Kevin Foley is now having to handle the heartbreak of missing out on Euro 2012. The 27-year-old had been expecting to travel to Poland and Ukraine as part of Ireland’s squad after apparently overcoming a hamstring injury. However, the defender was stunned to learn that he had been axed from Giovanni Trapattoni’s squad, with the versatile (but not very good)  Paul McShane taking his place in the 23-man squad.

Foley had been named in Trap’s initial squad, but with injury concerns over both John O’Shea and Darren O’Dea, the Italian coach decided not to risk Foley after his hamstring niggle. McShane’s ability to play both in the centre of defence and at full-back also influenced the decision. Understandably, Foley is not a happy bunny. He said:

“It is hard to take, you know. I sort of feel betrayed. I don’t want to go into too much detail. I just feel betrayed.”

“I wanted to prove a point, that I was fit to play because from what I understood, I could have trained last week, Thursday, Friday and been involved in the game (versus Bosnia on Saturday).”

“He (Trapattoni) said there was no rush and we will wait to train in Italy, so I trained for two days in Italy and felt great. And then all of a sudden, he pulls me this morning just before the end and says, ‘You are not in the squad’, and that is hard to take.”

“I have done everything I can. That is all I can do. Words can’t really describe it. It was tough. The lads have been great, but what happened happened, there’s nothing I can do about it now. I hope the lads go on and do as well as they can from the tournament.”

With Foley now 27, he may not get many more (if any at all) chances to play at a major international tournament. However, to claim he was ‘betrayed’ is maybe a tad extreme. Although to be fair to him, I be pretty peeved if I was replaced by Paul McShane myself.

Posted in Euro 2012

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8 Comments

  1. Conor says:

    As an Irishman, I can confirm that Paul McShane can play neither left-back nor centre-back In fact, I’m pretty sure he can’t even play football.

  2. JP says:

    Hahaha Conor that is great. And from what I have been reading this morning, McShane is the most surprised at his inclusion..

  3. Danny says:

    I think this is all part of Traps master plan. To baffle the opponents. Can you imagine the look on Spanish faces when a Puyol clearance bounces right off Paul McShanes face and into the back of the net, whilst he lies unconscious on the ground. Tactical masterclass if you ask me.

  4. Paul says:

    Paul McShane is a great player so shut up

  5. Paul McShane is one of the worst defenders of all time, as evidenced by this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGMuoxihmu4

  6. PatBlueIre says:

    @ Paul

    The only way to believe you actually believe he’s great is if your actually him.

    Can’t believe Trap picked him AGAIN! am still looking forward to the Euros but can’t help but think tactics will make it a disaster

  7. […] manager Giovanni TrapattoniIrish IndependentFoley feels 'betrayed' over omissionIrish Times'I Feel Betrayed' – Kevin Foley Upset At Last-Minute Axe From Ireland Euro …Who Ate All The PiesYahoo! Eurosport UK -Herald.ie -Setanta Sports Irelandall 798 news […]

  8. Guff says:

    “With Foley now 27, he may not get many more (if any at all) chances to play at a major international tournament.”

    He will only be 31 for the next Euros where 24 teams will qualify so he has a decent chance to play or at least be in the squad for a major international tournament.

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