Ireland, Colombia World Cup warm-up abandoned after becoming 'overly physical'

DUBLIN – A friendly match between Women’s World Cup-bound teams Ireland and Colombia was abandoned after becoming overly physical, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) said on Friday.

The game in Brisbane, Australia, which was played behind closed doors, was called off after 20 minutes.

“The game, which was held in Meakin Park, Brisbane, became overly physical and it was decided, following consultation with the match officials, to end the game,” the FAI said in a statement.

The Colombian Football Federation said that the friendly match was suspended because the Irish team “preferred not to continue playing after 23 minutes of the first half”.

“While all the processes and training of our national teams are framed within the rules of the game, healthy competition and fair play, among others, we respect the decision of our rival team,” it added.

The Irish media reported that midfielder Denise O’Sullivan was taken to hospital after a shin injury during the match.

They also said local referee Caitlin Williams had already shown two Colombians yellow cards in the game at Ireland’s training base south of Brisbane, before O’Sullivan’s injury in a tackle.

Ireland coach Vera Pauw said she hoped O’Sullivan, who plays for North Carolina Courage and has 102 caps, would be fit to face Australia in their World Cup opener, after initially fearing her tournament was over.

She said: “She went to hospital and we still have hope she can make it.

“There was risk of a big injury. Doctors feared that last night but that the X-ray showed there is hope.

“The first 48 hours are the most important on soft tissue injury. Being above her ankle is a good thing.

“She is off her feet. We have good hopes. It’s too early to say. Last night we thought it might be over.”

On Colombia, she added: “There were moments from the other side that Ruesha (Littlejohn) got a huge tackle and could have been injured.

“It took a few minutes to restart and two minutes later a huge challenge on Denise that was not within laws of the game. She was in awful pain.

“That created an atmosphere that I didn’t think from those 10 minutes it would be right. Players were extremely upset.”

The Irish Independent reported that Colombia’s reaction to the incident was markedly different, citing centre-back Daniela Caracas’ interactions with fans while signing autographs after the match. The interaction was posted online.

“They are little girls,” she told a supporter. “There was a tackle and they started to complain.

“They said they were going to see if they wanted to continue playing or not, so our coach said we are not going to wait for them to decide.”

After the fan suggested it was the correct decision, Caracas added: “Let them eat s**t!”

Ireland are playing in their first Women’s World Cup, which is being co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia from July 20 to Aug 20.

They begin their Group B campaign against hosts Australia on Thursday at the Sydney Olympic Stadium before facing Canada and Nigeria.

Colombia will play a second friendly against China ahead of their opener against South Korea on July 24, before facing Germany and Morocco in Group H.

In other pre-tournament friendlies, England and Canada drew 0-0 behind closed doors, while Spain and Italy secured wins on Friday.

The fourth-ranked England are the European champions, while seventh-ranked Canada won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

AS Roma’s Valentina Giacinti scored the only goal in the 23rd minute of Italy’s behind-closed-doors win over New Zealand in Auckland. The co-hosts’ Football Ferns are chasing their first victory in the World Cup.

Spain thrashed Vietnam, who are making their World Cup debut, 9-0.

Hosts Australia claimed a 1-0 win over France courtesy of a Mary Fowler goal in front of over 50,000 fans in Melbourne.

It was an Australian record attendance for a women’s football match. REUTERS, AFP