Yeah. His girlfriend phoned up and told Staunton that Stephen's grandmother had died. She then told him that she'd had a miscarriage, but that she thought they'd let him come home if they thought his grandmother had died. He went along with it, until the FAI and Man City pointed out that both his grandmothers were alive.
Can't blame him, or her really. If he'd told the truth initially they probably would have let him go home anyway.