The 37-year-old, who played for Kilmarnock at the time of the incident, was withdrawn from the Northern Ireland squad and subsequently banned for 10 matches by the Scottish Football Association. Lafferty says that while he does not know if the incident was the reason for his continued absence from the Northern Ireland squad, he accepts he "took liberties" when he was receiving call-ups earlier on his career. "[I] didn't turn up at times when I should have," Lafferty told BBC Sport NI in a wide-ranging interview. Asked to expand on his regrets, Lafferty said: "Deciding to go on holiday instead of playing for your country at times. When asked to confirm he had feigned injury at times, he said: "I wasn't injured, yeah, just stuff like that.

Source: Metro November 20, 2024 10:08 UTC