DUBLIN BOSS JIM Gavin has rejected suggestions that defender Rory O’Carroll could have been in trouble after a photograph from last Sunday’s match with Kerry showed his hand coming close to the eye of Colm Cooper.
The Kerry squad have not launched an objection based on the incident and the CCCC are not set to pursue the issue.
But Gavin revealed he was aware of the incident and that he had consulted with O’Carroll on the matter.
“Yeah it was brought to my attention and I spoke to the player involved and he said it was just a tussle going for the ball. I spoke to a few players and that’s what they saw.”
Gavin believes photographs can sometimes be misleading.
“I think a single frame just takes one snapshot in time. You need to have a look at the totality of the film. I haven’t seen that but I don’t think Croke Park have made an issue of it.
“There’s a lot of photographs you wlould see and make you think what happened there’. But they are just snapshots of a particular time where people are taken off guard or are unusual circumstances.”
Gavin dismissed any suggestions that his team are cynical.
“I would be loathe to think anyone would say Dublin are cynical. I would take a step back if that was the case. We promote them to play good football.
“If there is any back chat to the referee we expect the referee to bring the ball up because I certainly wouldn’t tolerate it. They know that as well that they are getting a county jersey and with any county jersey comes a responsibility and a responsibility to the game itself.
“They only have the jersey for a certain part of their career. There’s a big tradition of Dublin teams that have gone before them, a big legacy that supports them.
“They have a duty of care to that so behaving themselves on the field of play is one of them.”
