Red Devils confirm Shelley talks

On Wednesday evening Extratime reported that Bohemians centre-back Brian Shelley had signed for Australian side, the Ballarat Red Devils.

Shelley has since issued a statement through his solicitor Stuart Gilhooly, denying this and claiming that the quotes attributed to him by Australian newspaper The Courier were 'entirely false.'

Extratime can confirm that the signing has not yet been completed, but that Shelley is in advanced talks with the Australians, and has been for about a month now.

“The signing has not been completed yet but we are still in discussions with Brian about the possibility of him coming to Australia. We've been in discussions for a few weeks now but at this stage he has not completely signed on,” Ballarat's PRO Duncan Smith told Extratime.

Shelley claimed he had not spoken directly to the media in Australia, which has proved correct.

However the quotes used in the Australian media came from a press release issued from the Australian side, claiming that he had signed with the club.

The club has confirmed the quotes were correct, but that they should not have been released.

They have also told Extratime that the press release was issued prematurely and that it was a 'mistake' to say that Shelley had signed a two year deal.

The Ballarat Red Devils are based in Victoria, Australia, and play in the Football Federation Victoria State League Division two North-West.