CLARE’S DISCIPLINE HAS come under the spotlight again after Sunday’s Munster hurling quarter-final.
The Banner County suffered red card woe for the third consecutive championship game, with Patrick Donnellan sent off at half-time.
Clare had Podge Collins dismissed in the drawn All-Ireland qualifier against Wexford last summer, with Jack Browne and Brendan Bugler following suit in the replay defeat.
And Bugler missed Sunday’s clash with Limerick through suspension, a carry-over from that red card against Wexford.
But manager Davy Fitzgerald had strongly rejected suggestions that Clare are a dirty team.
Speaking to reporters after the game, he said: “I’ll ask everyone a question here – do ye think we’re a dirty team? And do you think we foul a lot?
“And I feel if you really look inside your souls, you’ll see.”
Fitzgerald was privately aggrieved by the fact that Limerick’s Shane Dowling finished with ten points from frees.
Clare, in contrast, had five pointed frees from Colin Ryan in the first half but were awarded just one free in the entire second half.
“I don’t think we’re dirty. It’s hard but listen, I can’t do nothing.
“That’s the way it is and I’m not going to come out publicly and criticise anybody.
“Ye can make up yer own minds from whatever ye want.”
Fitzgerald also queried the amount of additional time at the end of the game, with Clare claiming that there should have been more than the one minute and 20 seconds extra that referee Colm Lyons played.
There was some confusion on the touchline as the public address announced one additional minute but the fourth official flashed up four minutes.
“I’m certain there was more extra-time than that,” Fitzgerald said.
“But we won’t be cribbing about it. We’ll take our defeat and move on.
“The players thought four and I thought four. That’s why I wasn’t worried.
“I thought we’d definitely get a leveller.
“We all thought it was four and so did the team. But listen they have their explanation for it.”
The Clare county board has indicated to the42 today that they won’t be appealing Donnellan’s red card, with suspension set to rule the captain out of Clare’s first qualifier match.
