Watch: 'Are you trying to get me a ban?' - Angry McGuinness hits out after ugly Killarney clashes

PLENTY TO CHEW ON: Jim McGuinness Donegal Manager. Pic: INPHO/James Lawlor

Jim McGuinness has taken exception to the suggestion he might be punished for his involvement in the half-time flare-up in Killarney on Saturday.

The Donegal manager was incensed after he saw Ryan McHugh shedding blood after clashing with Kerry forward Micheál Burns. 

GAA+ footage shows McGuinness pointing at Diarmuid O’Connor before appearing to push him. McGuinness admitted in the post-match press conference that he didn’t see what happened, only the aftermath.

Asked by the journalist if he was worried he might be punished considering the 12-week ban handed to Dublin manager Ger Brennan for a half-time flashpoint, McGuinness replied: “Are you trying to get me a ban? Is that what you're saying?” 

When it was pointed out the matter was shown on GAA+, McGuinness responded: “Okay, so you're flying that kite, are you?” He added: “You’re not talking about the incident. You're talking about the fact that, out of 50 people, you're finger-pointing me. Is that what you're saying?” 

On the McHugh-Burns matter, McGuinness said: “I wasn't close to the incident. I didn't see anything, to be honest with you. I didn't see anything, but, listen, it is what it is. You know, there was a strike and he (McHugh) [was] split. People are not happy that once your players get split, people are not going to be happy. That's just the bottom line, you know. So, it was dealt with by the referee.” 

McGuinness and Jack O’Connor were spoken to by referee Seán Hurson before Burns was dismissed. “He said, ‘Nobody in the dugout, nobody in the dugout, I'm going to be fair,’ and that happened, and we got our boys out of the dugout.

“Jack got his lads out of the dugout, and I said, are you going to deal with the situation with Ryan McHugh? He said, ‘I am going to deal with that situation,’ and that was it. It was over.” 

O’Connor, who said he didn’t see the sending-off offence, remarked: "He was just on about the amount of men on the sideline. He was just talking about having limited people, just the medical on the sideline along with the coach and myself. That's all. I don't think either of us were stuck in the schemozzle."

Following the Division 1 final flashpoint with Dylan Casey, Donegal had anticipated Michael Murphy would take some heat in this game and it came on a number of occasions.

“The exact same thing happened in the All-Ireland final. The exact same thing happened. That happens every day in a big game. That's the reality of the situation. We were ready for that. We weren't going to back down," added McGuinness.

“We were going to get our head down. We were going to keep on working hard, and there was no guarantee we were going to win that game or anything else. We were going to get our head down. We were going to meet it head-on, if possible, and that was all it was.” O’Connor rued the numerical disadvantage in the second half: “Donegal are a very athletic team and they move the ball around well. They stretch you even when you have even numbers. But when you're down a man, that's exacerbated then. That was the story, really."

McGuinness might have known Kerry were Donegal’s opponents prior to the Munster final but neither he nor any of his management team watched the game live. 

“We trained on the Sunday of the Munster final, and we didn't go to the Munster final," he added. “You've got a behind-the-goal view, both sides of the pitch, and you've got a sideline view. You see everything you need to do on video. We didn't come to Kerry. So that's maybe a thing that people think there's a massive advantage. When you come to a game, you can only watch so much.”