Flynn apologises to ref for Twitter rant

Wexford footballer Adrian Flynn has apologised for his outburst against referee Anthony Nolan on social media.

Flynn had tweeted his annoyance at Nolan’s officiating of Sunday’s qualifier contest between Wexford and Laois, questioning a number of second-half frees awarded to Tomás Ó Flatharta’s side.

The Wicklow referee was booed off the field upon the full-time whistle, with Laois progressing 0-17 to 0-16. Flynn on Tuesday removed the post from his twitter account and apologised to Nolan for the critical nature of his comment.

“Hindsight is a great thing. A lot harder to make decisions in real time. Apologies to Anthony Nolan and anyone else offended by my tweet,” he wrote.

Continued Flynn: “It’s done now, nothing’s going to change the result. We move on.”

The minimum suspension for derogatory comments in relation of game officials is eight weeks and Flynn is the second Wexford footballer in recent years to climb down on their criticism of a match official. Former goalkeeper Anthony Masterson was forced to apologise for his outburst against referee Derek Fahy following the county’s qualifier defeat to Limerick back in 2011.

Meanwhile, Wexford GAA have blocked further viewing of a video posted on the county’s official twitter account which highlighted a raft of second-half frees awarded to Laois on Saturday. The footage, complete with slow-motion replays, hones in on 13 second-half frees that went against Wexford. The video, which attracted up to 1,000 views before being switched to private on Monday night, also shows the crowd’s hostile treatment of Nolan as he departed the pitch.

Manager Aidan O’Brien expressed dissatisfaction with the referee’s handling of the tie: “A few decisions went against us and there was one minute extra-time, which I thought was staggering given the amount of stoppages there was in the second half.”