Tyrone midfield ace Cavanagh insists he would never cheat to win a free

Sean Cavanagh has intimated Joe Brolly’s criticism of him has become personal after the outspoken pundit claimed on Sunday he cheated to engineer a black card for Darren Hughes as well as a free.

Brolly suggested the Tyrone star had pulled down Hughes to hoodwink referee Eddie Kinsella into awarding him a free and punishing Hughes with an automatic substitution, which duly happened.

The 1993 Derry All-Ireland winner was scathing of Cavanagh in last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final when he hauled down Conor McManus as the Monaghan forward looked set to strike for goal. Insisting he would never cheat to win a free, when asked if Brolly was getting too close to the bone, Cavanagh replied: “Possibly. He’s not someone that I would know very much.”