Vera Pauw, the head coach of the Republic of Ireland women’s team, said her players “feared for their bodies” in their abandoned World Cup warm-up match against Colombia. The 60-year-old was also shocked by the angry response from their opponents in the wake of the behind-closed-doors fixture.
In an interview in Brisbane with Off The Ball, Pauw said what was happening on the field was “outside the rules of the game”. She added: “We do not fear any physical contact, you know that, we are ourselves a team that, within the rules of the game, we are a very tough playing team.”
The midfielder Denise O’Sullivan sustained a shin injury in a challenge and was taken to hospital, but the fallout from the friendly has taken a bitter turn given the angry response from the Colombia centre-half Daniela Caracas.
Speaking to Colombian supporters who had gathered outside Meakin Park, Ireland’s training base for the Women’s World Cup, Caracas said: “They are just girls, one little foul and they started complaining. They were having a chat among themselves to continue or not so we weren’t going to hang around waiting for them.” She added: “Honestly, let them eat shit.”
On hearing the Espanyol player’s remarks, Pauw told reporters: “I’m sorry? Did they? To be honest, I’m a bit shocked hearing this. Well, let’s say that they maybe were emotional too. That they walked off is not true. But the Colombian staff handled it really well.
“They took their players off while we were discussing what we would do, and that was in the moment that we were in discussion with the referees. I also complimented the fact that they calmly left the venue, went to the bus and left. The statement of the Colombian FA says a thousand words, I think.”
The Colombian Football Federation’s statement had said, while its coaching was “framed within the rules of the game, healthy competition and fair play”, it respected the Irish team’s decision.
Pauw continued: “I had to protect my players by discussing it with Marc Canham and the FAI has protected the players as well. It was a collective decision from the board, the management, staff and players. We were all on the same sheet.”
The behind-closed-doors match was abandoned after around 20 minutes when a fierce challenge led to O’Sullivan being taken to hospital, with the Football Association of Ireland issuing a statement saying the game was becoming overly physical. “The players, [for] the first time since I am coaching them, they feared for their bodies,” added Pauw.
The head coach said she approached the opposition bench in an effort to keep things on the field calm, telling them: “We all want to go to the World Cup.” O’Sullivan appears to have escaped serious injury after an X-ray and a scan revealed no break or fracture to her left shinbone. Pauw is hopeful that O’Sullivan will be fit in time for the World Cup opener against Australia in Sydney on 20 July.
