Former Kilmarnock striker Kyle Lafferty says he was “flung under the bus in a way” with the handling of a sectarian comment he made in September 2022.
The 37-year-old, who played for Kilmarnock at the time of the incident, was withdrawn from the Northern Ireland squad and subsequently banned for 10 matches by the Scottish FA.
Lafferty, who has 20 goals in 89 caps, has not been selected for Northern Ireland since.
The striker accepts his international career is over, but while he recognises the sectarian remark was his mistake, he feels he the situation could have been handled better.
“I’m not going to sit here and blame anyone else, the words came out of my mouth,” he told BBC Sport NI in a wide-ranging interview.
“It could have been handled better slightly, maybe. I felt I was flung under the bus in a way.”
He added: “Never getting a call-up since, was it down to that video? I don’t know.”
Lafferty on ‘massive’ career regrets – read the full interview
