Cork county board has taken aim at former football manager Brian Cuthbert's critics in a statement issued today.

The Bishopstown man stepped down last week following the Rebels' dismal championship exit at the hands of Kildare, having come in for "regular, unjustified and personalised abusive criticism from certain elements of the media", according to the statement.

The statement also claims that the penalty awarded by referee Padraig Hughes against Mark Collins in the closing stages of the drawn Munster SFC final against Kerry was "totally wrong", and suggests that Cork would now be in an All-Ireland semi-final if it hadn't been awarded.

The statement in full reads: "The Executive of Cork County Board would like to express its sincere thanks to Brian Cuthbert for his two years at the helm of the Cork Senior Football team.

"Brian made great strides with a largely new-look team playing excellent football, and steered them through two successful Allianz League campaigns which saw them top the league in both years, reaching the semi-final in 2014 and the final in 2015. The 2015 campaign was particularly arduous given that it involved an unprecedented four trips to play Ulster teams away.

"The tremendous performance of the team in the drawn Munster Final has been widely acknowledged, and it is quite probable that but for a totally wrong refereeing decision in that game, Cork would now be in an All-Ireland Semi-Final. The short  turnaround time between the replay, played in exhausting weather conditions, and the qualifier game against Kildare, cannot be ignored as a factor in that defeat.

"Brian also served as a selector with Conor Counihan, and guided the Cork Minor Footballers to the county's last Munster title at that level in 2010, going on to reach the All-Ireland Final.

"In addition, he has worked extensively with the Rebel Óg Academy development squads over a number of years, including chairing the Committee that established the current structures of the County Under-Age Development Squad system, having consulted widely and obtained opinion and input from professional experts including Dr Liam Hennessy, Dr John Considine, Sean McGrath, MSc - et al, on the requirements for success in modern day sport.

"In all these roles, Brian was acting as an unpaid volunteer, as are all Cork team managers, coaches and selectors. As Senior manager, he left no stone unturned in his efforts to bring success to Cork, despite facing regular, unjustified and personalised abusive criticism from certain elements of the media and which has continued since he has stepped down as manager.

"The Executive would also like to acknowledge the contribution of his selectors Ciarán O'Sullivan, Don Davis, Owen Sexton, Ronan McCarthy, and the training and medical personnel.

"Brian has undertaken these roles with the utmost dignity while at the same time attending to his professional career and family demands as a busy school principal and parent."

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