NI players brawl on plane

Northern Ireland stars Keith Gillespie and George McCartney were involved in a fight on an aeroplane before it flew the team from Iceland to London.

Keith Gillespie attacked George McCartney, his Northern Ireland teammate, on a flight home from Iceland yesterday morning after a row broke out over another player’s passport.

Gillespie, 32, is expected to be fined by the Irish Football Association (IFA), which has launched an investigation into the matter, although he will probably not be suspended.

Gillespie’s own goal gifted Iceland a last-minute victory at the Laugard-alsvollur Stadium in a game in which McCartney lost a tooth after being accidentally elbowed.