Sunderland have suspended Phil Bardsley and ordered the defender to steer clear of the training ground after mocking his side's 1-0 home defeat to Fulham on social media website Instagram, according to reports. The defender had already been in hot water at the Stadium of Light since May, when pictures of the former Manchester United defender had appeared online of him in a casino, covered in £50 notes. Paulo Di Canio had previously stated that the incident would see him and fellow transgressor Matthew Kilgallon leave the club. In an apparent effort to make the point he was not welcome at Sunderland, the troublesome defender was not given a squad number prior to the Fulham game, and appears as if he is heading for an early Sunderland exit. Bardsley is currently on a three and a half year contract for the Black Cats, which expires in 2014, meaning he just has a year left. The exiled defender was linked with Fulham, QPR, and Newcastle over the summer, among others. However, a broken foot sustained in an U21 match last week means he's unlikely to be going anywhere, for the moment at least, despite Sunderland apparently desperate to remove him from the wage bill.
Diarmuid is a freelance student and studious sports journalist operating out of the wilds of Dublin, Ireland. His specialist subjects include the English Premier League, the GAA, and track and field athletics.
