Irish broadcaster shows leading pundit yellow card
national |
miscellaneous |
news report 
Tuesday June 11, 2002 21:56
by Faruk
Overwork is the cause of injuries suffered by top players, Figo says
DUBLIN - Ireland soccer pundit Eamon Dunphy met yesterday with bosses from state broadcaster RTE after the station suspended him from its World Cup coverage for being "unfit for work."
Dunphy, a controversial figure whose comments on the recent Roy Keane debacle triggered uproar, has admitted he had been drinking and had not slept before appearing on RTE's World Cup Live program on Sunday morning.
"I'd had a few drinks, I hadn't slept and I think I wasn't fit to fulfill my contract to provide proper commentary and I think RTE did the right thing," the former Manchester United and Millwall player said in a statement.
"I owe them [RTE] an apology. I owe the viewers an apology."
Dunphy, who is ghost-writing Keane's biography, was on air for only five minutes on Sunday, but in that time he appeared slumped in his chair and slurred several times.
Never one to mince his words, Dunphy recently had RTE's switchboard jammed with an "unprecedented" 2,000 complaints when he said he wanted Cameroon to beat Ireland in their opening World Cup clash on June 1.
Dunphy, 57, said a defeat would force the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to reform after its role in the row that led to Keane's dramatic expulsion from Ireland's World Cup squad.
Keane was sent home before the start of the tournament after a row with coach Mick McCarthy over training and facilities.
Dunphy's hard-nosed style has seen him frequently embroiled in controversy. In 1990, fans in Dublin overturned his car after Dunphy criticized former manager Jack Charlton, still treated with saint-like status in Ireland for leading the country to their first World Cup finals
Comments (5 of 5)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5RTE has just been looking for an excuse to axe Dunphy..ok ,maybe he was a bit wrecked, but out of all the muppets working for RTE he seems to be the only one capable of independant thought. So what if he causes a bit of contraversy. I've never heard him say anything offensive about a person if they did not deserve it. As for Mick Mccarthy ,come on people just take one look at his eyes and you can see that the man doesn't have two brain cells to rub together to create a spark of intelligence,--
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How the hell is this radical, accurate and passionate, its regurgitated shite!
Who is worse, me for stating me opinion or you for criticising mine?
Lighten up man -
A great deal of what Eamon Dunphy said re the Roy Keane affair is accurate. The fact that he got sloshed does not alter that fact. The Irish team is playing in the World Cup and their best player is at home. What more needs to be said re the so called FAI and the "Manager" and his "team mates" who stabbed Roy in the back instead of supporting their team captain.
Pity it wasn't Paul Kinsella. Oh I can just see the blood pressure rising in Paul Kinsella's temple.
King Mob,
Demand the impossible.
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