Cavanagh says he would repeat rugby tackle foul on McManus

Tyrone

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Seán Cavanagh

has said that if faced with certain circumstances he would repeat the controversial rugby tackle foul on Conor McManus in last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final against Monaghan.

Speaking at yesterday’s launch by GAA football championship sponsors SuperValu, Cavanagh said he would fully expect the same thing to happen to him in next weekend’s Ulster quarter-final between the same counties.

Asked would he do the same again given the introduction of black cards to discourage calculated fouling, he replied: “Yeah, it’s as simple as that. Pulling somebody back to me isn’t dangerous. Maybe if you were getting a red card and it’s deemed a professional foul and you’re going to miss a game or something like that, you definitely would think twice about it.

“If it got you over the line and through to the next round of a championship I think then 99.9 per cent of players will tell you exactly the same. They probably would take one for the team and it’s just the way players will use the rules to their advantage every now and again.”

He said if more severe sanctions were introduced, he might re-think the matter.