Derry dismiss Cork statement

The Derry minor trainer, Chris Byrne, has said that he holds in "utter contempt" a Cork County Board statement issued yesterday, which strongly defended their stance in the controversy arising from the All-Ireland minor football semi-final.

The Cork board contend that Kieran Murphy, the midfielder who was allowed to remain on after receiving two yellow cards, did not deserve the first booking, a contention, they say, substantiated by video evidence and discussions between the match official and a linesman.

It is further pointed out that Cork were never formally asked by Derry for a replay and disappointment is noted at "the insulting taunting that players received from some of the Derry players prior to the game and at the harassment some Cork players and, notably Kieran Murphy, received from some Derry team officials after the game."

Derry's official appeal for a replay was rejected by the GAA late on Wednesday night and the team officials were due to meet with their young charges last night.

"I have to treat that statement with utter contempt. I'll let the sporting public across Ireland make their own judgment on it," commented Byrne.

"This issue was about more than a Gaelic football match," he continued. "I feel for the Cork players in this, particularly young Kieran Murphy. This is a 17-year-old lad who neither needs nor deserves this. He is a tremendous footballing talent, one whom I admire. Some of these lads from Derry and Cork were away on International Under-17 Rules together last year.

"That is what we are trying to foster here. I am shocked and dismayed that the letter of the law was imposed here and not the spirit of the law."

The Derry County Board lodged an appeal on the basis that Murphy had been issued with a second yellow card with seven minutes remaining by referee Gerry Kinneavy and had mistakenly been allowed to remain on the field. Cork won by a single point.

The Cork board remained silent on the issue throughout the appeal process but issued a 14-point rebuttal of Derry's position yesterday.

The crux of their argument is that while the referee had shown Murphy a yellow card for the first offence, he later amended the caution to a `tick'.

Point six in the Cork statement reads: "After the issuing of the second yellow card to Kieran Murphy, the same linesman approached the referee on the behest of Derry officials.

He was reportedly told by the referee that the first incident involving Kieran Murphy was only a `ticking" and that the second incident was a yellow card. "The referee is reported to have repeated this to Derry officials after the game. This was interpreted at the time to mean that the referee had realised (from the linesman's information prior to the start of the second half) that the first yellow card had not been justified."

They also put Murphy's performance over those last seven disputed minutes in context. It had been argued by Derry and some media sections that the Cork star had been instrumental in winning the game for Cork with his play after the second yellow card. "For the record, Kieran Murphy played the ball a total of three times in the course of two sequences of play and both culminated in frees to Derry. The player played no part in any Cork score in the period."

The statement further maintains that the Cork team and officials found it "extraordinary" that the Derry officials would enter their dressing-room to offer congratulations only to later "engage in a high-profile media campaign and lodge a formal objection" without any further contact with Cork.

The Cork board, according to the statement, had not been prepared to conduct their views through the media but through official GAA proceedings initiated by Derry. They felt it pertinent to comment only after the association had dealt with the issues raised by Derry. "It is noted," reads the concluding point, "with little surprise, the biased approach of some commentators and members of the media."

The Derry board was last night considering its position in relation to the statement.