WHAT A SWIZZ

Northern Ireland hopes suffer massive blow after harsh Evans handball call

MICHAEL O’NEILL laid into the referee after a contentious penalty put Northern Ireland’s World Cup hopes on the ropes.

Angry boos echoed around Windsor Park when Romanian official Ovidiu Hategan awarded a 57th minute spot kick for an apparent handball by Corry Evans.

Television footage showed the Blackburn midfielder had blocked Xherdan Shaqirir’s shot with his shoulder.

O’neill fumed: “It is staggering in this day and age when the stakes are so high that something like that is a game-changer.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a worse decision in any of the games I’ve been involved