Davy Fitzgerald has issued a statement about his tunnel flare-up with Clare Champion journalist Peter O'Connell following last Saturday's drawn All-Ireland hurling qualifier between Clare and Wexford.

The two were involved in a heated verbal exchange outside the Clare dressing-room before Pat Fitzgerald, Davy's father and Clare secretary, stepped in and removed the reporter from the area. O'Connell, who has been part of Clare U21 football management set-ups, claims he had decided to challenge the All-Ireland winning manager after he had earlier "shouted loudly and aggressively" at him over his criticism of aspects of the Clare management in the local newspaper.

"I was in no way physically or verbally aggressive," insisted O'Connell, who claimed Pat Fitzgerald had also verbally abused him. This has been denied by the county secretary.

It has since emerged that Davy Fitzgerald has banned the journalist from attending any future press briefings involving the Clare hurling manager.

In a statement issued to the Clare Champion this week, Fitzgerald voices his annoyance at what he sees as O'Connell's constant criticism of him and his management.

"I wish to clarify my position in respect of an incident which took place in the tunnel at Cusack Park last Saturday," the statement read.

"Despite what Mr O'Connell may contend, this is not just about one article, as he has publicly stated. It is about three years of continuous criticism of myself and my team. I accept that every management is open to criticism but, in the interests of natural justice, surely his opinion pieces have to be balanced and fair.

"Based on our achievements as a management team, I feel it is fair to state that our record should speak for itself. But we feel Mr O'Connell appears to have an agenda - why are we subjected to such minute scrutiny when he doesn't apply the same criteria to the minor, senior, intermediate and his own U21 management set-ups in the other code?

"It is fair to point out from the above comments that his criticism is not balanced, considering our results.

"I have contacted his editor on numerous occasions with a view to creating more equitable and fair-minded content in his articles.

"On seeing him last Saturday, I decided I was going to address the issues face-to-face. In my opinion, he did not handle my comments to him in a very good manner, which can be seen by his actions afterwards." Tweet

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