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Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill expressed frustration with the refereeing during Friday’s 1-0 victory against Georgia in Tbilisi, where Shea Charles scored a last-minute goal. O’Neill was particularly upset about decisions that favored Georgia, including a controversial penalty awarded to them and denied to Northern Ireland, while key defender Daniel Ballard suffered an injury late in the game due to what O'Neill felt were poor refereeing calls.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-25,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In a dramatic Nations League match on Friday, Northern Ireland narrowly defeated Georgia by a score of 1-0 in Tbilisi. The game's pivotal moments came from the Charles brothers: goalkeeper Pierce Charles, who is loaned to Queens Park Rangers from Manchester City, saved a crucial penalty kick from Georgia’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. Shortly before full time, his brother Shea Charles scored the winning goal in the 99th minute after Trai Hume's assist. The victory marked Northern Ireland’s first-ever away win and clean sheet in the competition since Pierce's debut against Belarus earlier this year.
Manager Michael O'Neill expressed frustration with certain refereeing decisions during the match, including a missed foul on substitute Ceadach O’Neill that led to an injury for defender Daniel Ballard. Despite these concerns, O'Neill praised Shea’s performance as "classic Shea," highlighting their significant contribution to the historic win.
Written for “Northern Ireland Soccer Win” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
Michael O'Neill has said he was "baffled" by some of the refereeing decisions in Friday's 1-0 win in Georgia.
asserted
he → publish → Georgia
Shea Charles scored a 99th-minute winner in Tbilisi as Northern Ireland picked up their first-ever away win in the Nations League.
asserted
Ireland → score → League
Before the winner, Pierce Charles had saved a controversial penalty from Georgia captain Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and his brother Shea had an appeal waved away at the other end.
asserted
appeal → save → end
O'Neill also fumed at a decision from official Orel Grinfeeld not to award a free-kick after Ceadach O'Neill was brought down late on, and key defender Daniel Ballard was injured in the following phase of play.
asserted
Ballard → fume → play
"In the second half we had to show a lot of resilience," O'Neill told BBC Sport NI.
asserted
O'Neill → have → NI
"Not only against the opposition, who were very good in the second half when they got Kvaratskhelia in the game a lot more, but some of the decisions that went against us.
"I was really disappointed in that side of things with how the game was refereed."
asserted
game → get → things
After a drab first half, the game picked up after the restart and the first flashpoint came in the 65th minute when Ballard was adjudged to have fouled Luka Lochoshvili when challenging for a cross after a VAR review.
asserted
Ballard → pick → review
Pierce saved the penalty from Paris St-Germain winger Kvaratskhelia, and Northern Ireland had an appeal of their own waved away when Charles appeared to have been caught in the area in the 88th minute.
asserted
Charles → save → minute
The NI manager was also angry at the lack of a foul on substitute O'Neill, who is now tied to Northern Ireland for three years after he won his third cap, and Ballard was injured when chasing a loose ball as Georgia came forward on the counter-attack in the resulting play.
asserted
Georgia → tie → play
O'Neill said his players were "magnificent" and his team "showed every side of our character tonight".
asserted
team → say → character
"At times it didn't go our way.
asserted
it → go → times
I've not seen the incident back but to me it seemed incredibly harsh to give a penalty for that.
asserted
it → see → that
The guy was nowhere near the ball to head it.
asserted
guy → head → it
"We feel aggrieved that we didn't get one at the other end.
asserted
we → feel → end
The foul on Ceadach when he came on the pitch causes Dan to get injured.
asserted
Dan → come → pitch
"I was just baffled by the quality of the refereeing."
asserted
I → baffle → refereeing
O'Neill confirmed that Sunderland defender Ballard had injured his hamstring and would miss Northern Ireland's next three games in the window, against Hungary, Ukraine and Georgia.
asserted
Ballard → confirm → Hungary
"You saw the nature of how he pulled up.
asserted
he → see → nature
It's a hamstring," he said.
asserted
he → say → ?
"We'll scan him tomorrow but he's certainly not going to be available for the next three games."
asserted
he → scan → games
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