Oisín McConville says he has ‘learnt a very solemn lesson’ after receiving a four-week ban for verbally abusing referee Kieran Eannetta.

The Wicklow manager was suspended for “abusive language towards a referee” during his side’s Allianz Football League defeat to Sligo last Sunday week. However, he denies he was abusive towards the Tyrone match official.

"I went to the referee to give my side of events, where I thought he went wrong," he told the BBC's The GAA Social podcast.

"It's not fair for me to go and question the referee at that stage. It's too late, the game is done, it's dusted. I felt as if we had cause for having grievances around a lot of things that happened during the game. 

"I was completely wrong, I shouldn't have addressed the referee. I didn't feel it was abusive. There was no bad language or anything used. There was no swear language used."

The Armagh great added: "When I went on to the Hearings Committee the other night, I was told that if the referee felt that I was being aggressive or abusive, then that was it, the line was drawn there.

"I might be 48 years of age, but I learnt a very solemn lesson this week, that the referee is always right. There's not much I can do about it. I have to lick my wounds.

"It's a mistake on my part and it's come back to bite me. I'll put it down to experience and I'll try to move on and learn from it."

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