Crossmaglen are breathing a sigh of relief after it was confirmed that the Ulster Council will not be taking any action against Francie Bellew following an incident in last Sunday's replayed Ulster club football final. TV replays showed Bellew's head make contact with Ballinderry's Brian McGuckin, who was adamant that the Armagh defender should have been sent off. But referee Brian Crowe took no disciplinary action against the player, and the Ulster Council has no plans to take the matter any further. "As far as we're concerned, the incident involving Francie Bellew was dealt with by the referee," Ulster Council secretary Danny Murphy said. Cross' manager Donal Murtagh welcomed the news, insisting that the incident didn't merit further investigation. "Well, certainly it's a bit of good news for us. I know the video evidence worked for us the last time (in overturning John McEntee's red card from the drawn game), but it doesn't always tell the whole story. "Francie maintained that he didn't make contact with the man, that he just tried to shrug him off. It may have looked like more on camera, but he said the man was holding him and then he gave him a wee bit of a hit to the ribs, and he (Bellew) reacted to that and shrugged him off." The news means that the full back will be available for Crossmaglen's All-Ireland club semi-final against Munster champions Dromcollogher-Broadford next February. Tweet

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