Linda lamped?

It is being reported that the Irish Football Association are investigating an incident that took place between George McCartney and Keith Gillespie last night.

Punches were said to have been thrown as the players argued during their return to the UK following the 2-1 Euro 08 qualifiyer defeat to Iceland, and other players are believed to have become involved in an attempt to break up the fight.

Gillespie is, of course, no stranger to fighting with team-mantes - during a 1998 Newcastle United trip to Dublin he drunkenly, and foolishly, wound up Alan Shearer enough to earn himself a night in hospital following another "incident".

Gillespie also holds the dubious record for the fastest sending off of a substitute when elbowing Reading's Steve Hunt last season. Since the game hadn't restarted following the substitution, the official records show that he was sent off zero seconds after joining the match.

No details of the cause of the flight have yet been released though, inevitably, there has been some speculation that the fracas may be in some way related to Sheffiled United's continued inability to accept the possibility that their relegation may have had something to do with the number of points that they amassed over the 38 game schedule.

We'll have more on this as details emerge...