The perils of a night out when you are a sportsman.
We saw it this week with Ross Barkley, who was allegedly struck in a Liverpool nightclub following Everton’s win over Leicester City at the weekend.
On Wednesday’s SportsJOE Live, the dangers of a night on the beer were discussed by former Nottingham Forest and Spurs attacker Andy Reid – who claimed to avoid London’s glitzy spots in favour of the pubs of Camden Town – and retired Kerry defender Marc Ó Sé.
The five-time All-Ireland winner recounted a particular night out on a foreign training trip that went awry.
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“We had a situation one year where we went on a training week and the manager at the time made a big mistake, he allowed us to go for a few pints,” said Ó Sé.
“I think it was the first or second night and, unfortunately we met the wrong crew. This was out foreign and they had no interest in being out socially. They just wanted to fight really. Unfortunately one of our fellas ended up coming out the wrong end of it.
“I remember Seamus Moynihan just telling all the boys, ‘just go lads go, just get out of here, get into the taxis’.
“When I saw the the cut of the crew I was straight into the taxi, didn’t care where Seamus was. You just come across the wrong crew and there is not much you can do about it. Put the head down and steer clear.”
Ó Sé believes the proliferation of social media and smart phones means these flashpoints now come to light far more often. But we are yet to see an iconic Kerry centre-back shepherding his Kingdom team-mates into a fleet of taxis. There is a video that would go viral.
