A Tyrone official has claimed that Armagh "engineered" a melee at the start of last July's All-Ireland SFC qualifier clash between the two counties at Omagh.

Matthew Donnelly receiving his marching orders approaching half-time of the tempestuous affair and Red Hand secretary Dominic McCaughey has revisited the ugly scenes that involved 22 players from both sides before throw-in. 

"The visitors (Armagh) engineered a melee at the commencement of the game with the clear intention of unsettling the home side," he states in his annual report, extracts of which are published in today's Irish Daily Star.

"In the first half the quality of football served up was quite poor and at the break Tir Eoghain were in arrears by two points.

"The stark failings in the attack were borne out by the fact that during the 78 minutes of the game, Tir Eoghain scored two points from play.

"While most players worked extremely hard throughout the second half the team lacked a cutting edge.

"It enjoyed no luck throughout the game and bowed out of the 2014 Championship on a scoreline of 0-13 to 0-10."

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