Michael O’Neill and Steven Davis never got a vote.
Commentator Jackie Fullerton was Northern Ireland’s sole representative in voting for the Ballon d’Or after the Irish Football Association forgot to send the ballots on time.
The blunder meant that Kyle Lafferty’s bid to break the stranglehold of Lionel Messi and winner Cristiano Ronaldo was ultimately unsuccessful.
Our unique brand of humour aside, the pair were the only representatives from UEFA not to have any say in who was named as the world’s best player. “The original documents were not received on time,” the IFA admitted, before curling back up on the couch with a nice cup of Bovril.
A Ballon d’Or spokesman confirmed: “The online votes were recorded before the deadline; however the original documents with the signatures were not received on time. We need to have it, because only then the votes are valid.”
