Ireland got a yellow card, but it was the European Commission that should have been sent off, according to the British newspapers yesterday. British leader-writers saw in Ireland's reprimand by EU finance ministers a cautionary tale for Europhiles and "ammunition" for Eurosceptics.
"Our sympathy is with Mr McCreevy," the Daily Telegraph's leader said, wagging a finger at the Chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown, and reminding him that Britain could also find itself the victim of bullying by the European Commission if he decided to abolish the pound.
The EU told Mr Brown to cut public spending on Monday. But the Telegraph told the Chancellor that if Britain joined the euro he would have to get used to the idea of a British economy operating as part of a larger European bloc.
"If Mr Brown doubts this, he should glance across the Irish Sea. It seems odd - to put it mildly - that Brussels should be ordering Mr Brown to raise tax in order to avoid a deficit, while simultaneously ordering Mr McCreevy to raise tax when Ireland is running a 4 per cent surplus."
In a similar vein, the London Times said that despite the efforts of Europhiles such as the Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, to argue otherwise, "monetary union involves more than changing the colour of banknotes".
Ireland and Britain were being invited to commit "political suicide" ahead of expected general elections if they acted on the EU's recommendations, according to the Guardian.
No one could accuse the EU of good timing, holding up "a yellow card to the Emerald Isle" and telling off Mr Brown. And Ireland made a "credible case for allowing its own economic policy to be tested to destruction".
Praising Ireland's near 10 per cent annual growth, the Guardian said: "If recent form is taken into account it is Ireland, not the EU, that should be seen as the role model."