Soccer: Stephen Ireland claims quotes attributed to him in media reports this morning were "very unfair" and "twisted to sound particularly blunt". The former Republic of Ireland international, currently on loan at Newcastle from Aston Villa, was quoted by French football magazine So Footas saying he would rather shoot himself than live in his hometown of Cork.

He was also alleged to have described Birmingham as a “crap city”.

Having read the papers this morning, Ireland says he was “misquoted”.

"I'm upset with what has been printed this morning because I feel like I've been portrayed in the wrong way," Ireland told skysports.com in a statement issued from his agent.

"I was misquoted and things have been blown way out of proportion. That is the reason why I feel like I needed to say something because the quotes are very unfair.

"What I said during the interview has been twisted to sound particularly blunt and a lot of what was written about my hometown of Cork - which me and my family visit regularly - was just plain ridiculous.

"The comments regarding Birmingham were also taken way out of context as I had only been at Villa a few months and didn't even live there so I have no idea what Birmingham is like to live in and everyone I have met from Birmingham has been nice. My girlfriend's father is from Birmingham so why would I say that, it's just crazy.

"I can only apologise if anyone was offended, but the way the interview was written made me sound very harsh, and I am not that kind of person."

Ireland did not comment on the criticism he is alleged to have reserved for Giovanni Trapattoni and the international set-up.

He described the Italian as “arrogant” and the FAI as “amateurish”.