Hogan blasts Cody

October 09, 2014

Referee Barry Kelly and manager Brian Cody. INPHO

Former Tipperary goalkeeper Ken Hogan believes Brian Cody's attack on referee Barry Kelly was in 'bad taste'.

Writing in his weekly Tipperary Star column, the former All-Ireland winning goalkeeper feels that Cody contradicted statements made in his own biography about criticising referees.

In the book, Cody writes that referees should be left to do their job, yet the Kilkenny manager openly criticised the Westmeath referee for a decision he made at the end of the drawn All-Ireland final against Tipperary when Kelly awarded the Premier County a free, which could have won the game for them.

In the aftermath of the replay, Cody was not willing to let the incident go and described the decision as 'criminal' which Hogan feels was unwarranted.

"Brian Cody's lambasting of Barry Kelly is contrary to all his beliefs that he held in his own autobiography about leaving referees to do their own job.

"This contravenes his latest tirade which is in poor taste for a manager who has had more of his share of lucky breaks with referees in previous years. Liam Sheedy took it on the chin in 2009 and as a county we never indulged in sour grapes and have always been gracious in defeat even when it really hurt to play second best.

"Brian Cody has had many fine hours both as a player and a manager, but this was not one of his best. He seems to expect everybody, including officialdom, to roll over and incur the wrath of his tongue. However, we'll keep working away in the hope that the wheel will turn in our direction someday."


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