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Republic of Ireland goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly has flatly denied that he leaked details of a pre-match video that was shown by coach Stephen Kenny to players ahead of last week’s friendly against England.
Kelly chose to leave camp ahead of the Nations League clash with Bulgaria last Wednesday for health reasons.
He is asthmatic and decided to stay in the UK after last week’s games against England and Wales instead of flying to Dublin in preparation for the game against Bulgaria.
On Thursday it was reported that a video was shown to the squad on England match day as a motivational tool.
Two and a half minutes of the video consisted of famous goals scored against the English, by Ray Houghton, Kevin Sheedy, Niall Quinn, Tony Cascarino and Shane Long, followed by 30 seconds of historical context of the relationship between Ireland and England.
The FAI launched an investigation into the video after it was claimed that some members of the panel were unhappy with some elements of the video, but Kenny is not expected to be sanctioned.
On Saturday night, Kelly issued his own statement on the saga, strongly denying that he had leaked details of the video to the press and criticized “the narrative and the hints that are being created in the media” that he had done so.
“I recently made the difficult decision to put my health first and football second while still working, traveling, eating and sleeping in camp with the Republic of Ireland national team during the recent international break,” he said.
“Covid-19 was present at the camp and continued to spread from person to person during this period. I made the decision not to participate in the last match because the risk was becoming too high for me as an asthmatic.
“Now I am absolutely furious and disgusted with the narrative and hints being created in the media that this decision is somehow related to stories leaked to the press outside of OUR dressing room.
“I can say, with 100% certainty, that I have never danced in front of the media in 35 years as a player and coach and I have been in some pretty interesting locker rooms.
“This narrative is totally and totally wrong and should raise the question, who is spreading the word and benefiting from this? What I can say is that it is not me. I have been a loyal servant of Irish football for over 30 years and Now I find my name and reputation dragged through the mud is shameful.
“Enough is enough.”
On Friday, Enda Stevens told the Irish Times that the players had not discussed the video at all.
“I think it’s disappointing that it has come out to the media, because of the way it has leaked,” he said.
“What happens in a meeting, in a dressing room, right or wrong, should stay there.
“I haven’t heard anything about the reunion, the guys at the reunion haven’t raised any awareness about it, so as far as I’m concerned, I don’t think there’s anything in it.
“I don’t think any player has noticed, because nothing has been said. We have a WhatsApp group, but nothing has been raised.”
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