Cargin centrefielder Michael McCann has insisted he was bitten by a Crossmaglen player during Sunday's Ulster club SFC quarter-final. The former Antrim footballer said on Monday night that he had been left "shocked" by the incident which is alleged to have occurred during his club's 2-15 to 0-13 defeat by the six-time All-Ireland winners.
The Antrim champions' manager John Brennan highlighted the incident immediately after the match in Armagh's Athletic Grounds, revealing his player had a mark on his neck due to a bite.
McCann has now backed up his manager’s claims and says the incident is what sparked the brawl which involved up to a dozen players in the 36th minute.
“It did happen,” he said.
“I was shocked by it because it has never happened me in my career before, but I knew immediately what it was. I reported it straight away to the referee and it’s in his hands now.
“Congratulations to Crossmaglen on their victory and that’s really all I want to say about it.”
Crossmaglen have strongly contested Cargin’s claims with joint-manager Oisín McConville insisting his players have rubbished the allegation.
Own investigation
“We have asked our players was anybody involved in a biting incident and they have said categorically ‘no’,” he said.
“That is good enough for us. We take the allegation seriously, but we have conducted our own investigation on it and are satisfied with it.”
The contents of referee Joe McQuillan’s report will now be crucial in determining whether the Ulster Council proceed with an investigation. The fact that McCann informed the referee of an incident during the game, suggests it will be referenced in McQuillan’s report.
Ulster Council CEO Danny Murphy said that the length of time the mater will take will depend on the referee's report.
“If it’s a simple, straightforward report it will be dealt with very quickly. If it’s not it’ll then have to go to a committee and we may end up having to hold an inquiry into it. That will obviously affect how long it’s going to take.”
McConville says the club are happy to co-operate with any potential investigation.
“We won’t be privy to the referee’s report for a while and usually we don’t bother getting it unless somebody is sent off or we need to take a look at something,” said McConville.
“If something is mentioned in the referee’s report, I’m sure we will be informed.”
“We don’t know what’s in the referee’s report because we don’t know if something was reported to him. It’s not what we need right now, but if an investigation happens we are happy to co-operate.
“Anything that the Ulster Council wants to do, we will facilitate that.
“At the moment, all our focus is on an Ulster semi-final. We have to prepare for Kilcoo and we have a big two weeks ahead. It’s important to use the time wisely.”
