Kerry All-Star Tadhg Kennelly has made the sensational admission that his controversial challenge on Cork's Nicholas Murphy at the start of last month's All-Ireland final was a premeditated act. Kennelly says his elbow charge on the Cork midfielder within three seconds of the throw-in was intended to lay down a marker, and that he had told room-mate Paul Galvin of his intentions the night before. The former Aussie Rules star had sprinted from his position on the '40' to execute the challenge on Murphy after he had fielded possession from the throw-in. The revelation that he had decided to take the law into his own hands is made in his autobiography, 'Unfinished Business', which is to be published this week. Sligo referee Marty Duffy awarded a free to Cork but took no action against the Kerry player. The challenge was a Category 2 offence under the GAA's rulebook and should have resulted in a red card for Kennelly. According to the Sunday Independent, the GAA has refused to comment on the revelation made by Kennelly, who is employed by Kerry County Board as a GAA coach. It has also been learned that the experimental rules which were designed to rid the game of such cynical acts have been binned, with GAA authorities deciding that they were no longer required. Kennelly would have received a yellow card under those rules and been forced to sit out the rest of the final, although he would have been replaced by a substitute. There is no suggestion that Kennelly's decision was initiated by anyone other than the player himself or was part of the Kerry game plan. He explains: "My theory was that I really wanted to set the tone for our side. We wanted Cork to know that we were a totally different animal to the one they'd faced three months earlier." He added: "As we got to our positions, I looked across at (Paul) Galvin, who nodded, and then positioned myself on the line ready to race in when the referee put the ball in the air. My eyes were almost rolling around in the back of my head. I was like a raging bull." He says he "timed it right" and caught Murphy "perfectly on the chin". His message was: "Cop that. It's different this time, boys". The Central Competition Controls Committee (CCCC) examined footage of the incident after the final and decided not to ask Duffy to review his decision. Tweet

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