Lacey recalls day when spit and hate rained from stand

ULSTER SFC FINAL:

The Footballer of the Year was injured, as he has been for most of the season, and missed out on playing in that game. But in tomorrow’s Big Interview in the Irish Examiner, he admitted the carry-on in the stand was disgusting.

Lacey was infamously spat on after the game, but said that wasn’t the only reason for his anger.

“I was shocked by it. Not only the spitting, the whole day surprised me,” he said.

“Michael Murphy got sent off and to hear the whole stand, and there are wee kids there, listening to their mothers or fathers or uncles or whoever. Young people all over the country admire Michael and to hear that, to me it was disgusting.

“And to hear how their supporters went on throughout the game, it was a new environment for me I suppose, to be in the stands and hear what was going on.

“It was horrible and then at the end getting spat on. I didn’t do anything, was just walking off. And what good would it have done, having a go back at whoever did it. I suppose May 26 [when Donegal beat Tyrone in Ulster] was in my head. I didn’t do anything, was just walking off.

“I would have loved to have met that guy in Ballybofey after our championship game. But listen, there’s nothing you can do about it. I just walked into the dressing room and in fairness the Tyrone County Board dealt with it fairly quickly, and it’s water under the bridge.”

The four-time All Star also addressed the issue of Kevin Cassidy and denied he was ever in favour of trash-talking, as had been alluded to by his former team-mate in the book This is Our Year.

“It was disappointing,” he said of Cassidy’s comments. “I haven’t read the book but I’ve been told there was stuff in there that just wasn’t true.”

When asked why Cassidy would lie, Lacey responded: “You’d have to ask him but it hurts to know that one of the guys that lined out with you was coming out with that stuff behind everyone’s back. It wasn’t within the agreement of the team, this wasn’t to be done and the fact he kept it quiet... hurt all right.

“Kevin was a great player, a big part of the squad since I joined, and to see a player of his calibre go was disappointing. But it was him or the team. We had to stand by each other. What Kevin did showed him up as the weak link in the squad, if he was doing that kind of stuff.”

His comments come before Donegal look to complete an Ulster three-in-a-row against Monaghan on Sunday. Meanwhile, Tyrone head to Newbridge to face Kildare in the pick of the weekend qualifiers tomorrow night.