THE CORK COUNTY board has broken its silence following the departure of Brian Cuthbert in a remarkable statement which references a bad refereeing decision and the weather as reasons for their All-Ireland exit.
The Rebels suffered an eight point defeat to Kildare in the qualifiers last week and Cuthbert, who had been in charge since 2013, decided not to seek another year in the role.
Cuthbert was not officially sacked but many of the current panel were disappointed with the manner of his resignation as they believed the critics had forced him out of the job.
The County Coard has this afternoon thanked Cuthbert and his staff for their efforts during his reign but also claim Cork would be in the All-Ireland football semi-final had it not been for Padraig Hughes’ decision against Kerry in the Munster final replay.
“The Executive of Cork County Board would like to express its sincere thanks to Brian Cuthbert for his two years at the helm of the Cork Senior Football team,” it reads.
“Brian made great strides with a largely new-look team playing excellent football, and steered them through two successful Allianz League campaigns which saw them top the league in both years, reaching the semi-final in 2014 and the final in 2015.
“The 2015 campaign was particularly arduous given that it involved an unprecedented four trips to play Ulster teams away.
“The tremendous performance of the team in the drawn Munster Final has been widely acknowledged, and it is quite probable that but for a totally wrong refereeing decision in that game, Cork would now be in an All-Ireland Semi-Final.
“The short turn-around time between the replay, played in exhausting weather conditions, and the qualifier game against Kildare, cannot be ignored as a factor in that defeat.”
Hughes awarded Kerry a highly contentious penalty during the Munster SFC final draw in Killarney last month.
Mark Collins was adjudged to have fouled James O’Donoghue in the small square and the 2014 Footballer of the Year duly converted from the spot. Eamonn Fitzmaurice’s side went onto snatch a draw in the dying embers and then triumph in the replay.
“In all these roles, Brian was acting as an unpaid volunteer, as are all Cork team managers, coaches and selectors,” the statement continues.
The board then criticised the media for what they perceived as ‘personalised’ abuse of Cuthbert.
“As Senior manager, he left no stone unturned in his efforts to bring success to Cork, despite facing regular, unjustified and personalised abusive criticism from certain elements of the media and which has continued since he has stepped down as manager.
“Brian has undertaken these roles with the utmost dignity while at the same time attending to his professional career and family demands as a busy school principal and parent.”
