If you're staking someone for a tourney, you're at the mercy of your horse suffering a bad beat and not getting any money. This is one of those bad beats.
Would be different if you were staking Stephen Ireland and he told you that another of his grandmothers had died.
That Stephen Ireland thing was the weirdest story ever.
Did he ever explain himself?
His girlfriend had a miscarriage which kind of fits in nicely with this thread. I am fairly sure it was a significant way through the pregnancy, so probably pretty painful for him and his girlfriend. From what I remember his girlfriend didn't have family close by for support. I think he didn't want to reveal what happened so made something up. I guess he didn't think particularly straight at the time, but it is difficult to think straight at times like this. So he did a bad thing, but you can see why he did it.
Understandable he withdrew, but somewhat strange he didn't tell his manager the reason.
Sure the FAI could have just said "personal reasons" to the press.
Apparently Ireland was under the impression that a miscarriage wouldn't be a good enough reason to pull out of the national squad, so made up the porky pie of it being his Grandmother. When the press found his Grandmother alive and well, he claimed it was his other Grandmother. I'm sure we've all been there where we tell a white lie (maybe not to that same degree though) with good intentions, but the thing just snowballs and we end up looking like a right plonker.
Actually think the media treated him pretty poorly in the aftermath. Instead of giving him support, he was widely mocked, hence his retirement from international football at the grand old age of 24 or whatever it was.
Pleased that he's still doing the business in the PL. Was very disappointed when Mancini came in and discarded him immediately. Hughes is the man to get the best out of him.
I digress! It was tongue in cheek earlier but I do think the family member in question is the key aspect.
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