McCarthy `innocent victim'

MICK McCarthy said yesterday that he was an innocent victim in connection with tickets going astray for last season's English FA Cup final.

Two Norwegian fans paid touts £350 each for £60 tickets for the Wembley clash between Manchester United and Everton last May and these were traced back to McCarthy as part of his allocation of four from Millwall where he was' then the manager.

This led to the FA banning him from receiving Cup final tickets for: 10 years but speaking in Dublin: yesterday, McCarthy said: "I am bitterly disappointed with what has happened. It's just unfortunate and' embarrassing.

"I gave these four tickets to a well-respected friend of mine at face value and he informed me that he had attended the game with another friend and their respective sons. I believed him," said McCarthy.

The problem is that I didn't hold on to the four ticket stubs. Even if I had given the tickets to Mother Teresa I wouldn't have got off with it," he added.

"If this whole business stamps out ticket touting, I will be very happy. I deplore ticket touting - I always have and I always will,"

said McCarthy. "FA Cup finals are a pain in the neck. At least people won't be ringing me up for tickets now."