Clare official hits out at Quinn 'media-trial'

Clare county secretary Pat Fitzgerald has attacked RTÉ's Sunday Game programme, claiming it "pilloried and publicly castigated" Banner defender Gerry Quinn (pictured) this year.

Kilkenny's Henry Shefflin suffered a severe facial injury following an encounter with Quinn in the drawn All-Ireland SHC quarter-final.

Fitzgerald accepted Quinn inflicted the injury but emphasised that replays of the incident "didn't show there was any malicious intent".

The Clare official said: "Analysts Tomás Mulcahy and Larry O'Gorman pilloried and publicly castigated the Clare player. Objectivity went out the window. There was no presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

"The comments of both former hurlers on the RTÉ panel of analysts were those of two people who had already found Gerry Quinn guilty and were further designed to put pressure on the GAC to launch an investigation, and they got what they wanted, if not the result they sought."

Fitzgerald also criticised radio programmes Sportscall and the Joe Duffy show for "continuing the trial".