Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Robert Hynes

Paudie Clifford's speech labelled 'horrible' and 'embarrassing' but not everyone agrees

GAA fans were divided as Paudie Clifford hit out at the referee over his sending off in Sunday's All-Ireland Junior Football Club Championship final.

Clifford captained Fossa to victory over Stewartstown at Croke Park, but it was acceptance speech that had everyone talking after the final whistle.

Paudie and his Footballer of the Year brother David were both shown red as a total of six players were sent off by referee Thomas Murphy as the final descended into a farce at the end.

READ MORE: David Clifford one of six players sent off after kicking 11 points as Fossa win All-Ireland junior title

Four Stewartstown players saw red in all with full-back Darren Devlin getting the line first for an off-the-ball clash with Emmett O’Shea early in the second half. Fossa's Cian O’Shea was shown a black card in the closing 10 minutes before tempers spilled over late on.

The Harps lost Gareth Devlin to a second yellow with David Clifford also picking up a second booking while Kyran Robinson and Anton Coyle were shown straight reds with Paudie Clifford also sent off on a straight red.

Despite the late shenanigans, Fossa held on for a deserved win with Paudie accepting the cup before launching into a remarkable acceptance speech.

After praising the collective efforts of the Fossa team, Clifford stated: “To the referee and his officials, obviously it was a tough game to ref there at the end.

“A good job, other than at the end when I was wrongly sent off. It was unbelievable how I was sent off, but a great job all around.”

Clifford also addressed the defeated Stewartstown men, adding: “To Stewartstown - an unbelievably hard running team, we were seriously up against it there.

“I know there was the bit at the end, but you are a great team and fair play to you.

“I’m sure you will give the Intermediate in Tyrone a run next year.”

Plenty of people took to social media to have their say on the controversial speech.

One wrote: "Great speech after the game by Paudie Clifford..lol..."

Another said: "Embarrassing speech from Paudie Clifford. Rightly received a red. Doesn't matter what went on before."

Someone else added: "Paudie Clifford with the worst/best winning speech ever."

One other post read: "Paudie Clifford’s speech was horrible."

READ NEXT:

Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alert

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.