Spillane "the most professional pundit in the game"
June 27, 2017
Dessie Dolan and Joe Brolly in The Sunday Game studio last night and inset Diarmuid Connolly pushing sideline referee Ciaran Brannigan and Pat Spillane.
Ger Loughnane has leapt to the defence of his fellow The Sunday Game analyst Pat Spillane.
Dublin refused to do one-on-one interviews with RTE following their landslide win over Westmeath on Sunday, with manager Jim Gavin taking exception to the perceived role of Kerry legend Spillane in having controversial Dubs attacker Diarmuid Connolly suspended for twelve weeks for minor physical interference with linesman Ciaran Branagan during the first-round win over Carlow, pointing to the "bile and malevolent attitude" with which "certain broadcasters" pursued Connolly:
"Diarmuid Connolly commited an offence which carries a twelve-week suspension," double All-Ireland winning Clare boss Loughnane wrote in The Irish Daily Star. "For Gavin to take the nuclear option that he took on Sunday was both out of chracter and hard to fathom.
"He was very wrong to personalise the matter, pointing the finger at Pat Spillane in particular. I have been working in The Sunday Game for about 15 years and the pundit I respect most is Pat Spillane.
"Pat is by far the most professional pundit there in either football or hurling. Nobody else puts in as much preparation beforehand.
"Over the years, Pat has often gone in hard on Kerry, and lost friends there over it. He is always completely genuine. Genuine is the word that I'd always associate with him."
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