Francie Bellew says he would meet Mickey Linden to discuss an infamous incident during the 2004 Ulster club football final which resulted in the Down legend having two teeth knocked out.
14 minutes into the game between Bellew's Crossmaglen Rangers and Linden's Mayobridge, the Armagh man hit the two-time All-Ireland winner with a shoulder to the head. The Mayobridge player/manager, who lost two teeth, was carried from the pitch with a concussion. Bellew wasn't even shown a yellow card by referee Michael Hughes.
28 November 2004; Francie Bellew, right, Crossmaglen Rangers, celebrates with team-mate Aaron Kernan at the end of the game. AIB Ulster Club Senior Football Final, Crossmaglen Rangers v Mayobridge, Casement Park, Belfast. Picture credit; David Maher / SPORTSFILE
"Yeah, I probably would," Bellew, in his first ever sit down interview, told the BBC's The GAA Social podcast when asked if he would meet with Linden.
"I'd say he would talk to me and I would talk to him. I think he's well over it by now."
Bellew added that in the intervening 19 years, he and Linden have never spoken. "I think I played a couple of challenge games [against him] but I don't think I ever spoke to him," said Bellew.
Francie Bellew tackle on Mickey Linden, 2004 Ulster final
The 2002 Armagh All-Ireland winner denied that he had deliberately targeted Linden.
"The only thing I remember that day is that could have been anybody there," said Bellew.
"Mickey Linden just happened to be there. I went to get the ball, and it happened to be Mickey Linden. It could have been a Cross player, it could have been any other player. I was not stopping that day. That's all I can really remember about that.
"It was nothing against Mickey Linden. He just happened to be in the wrong spot at the wrong time. It was a hospital pass. I was playing fullback and that's what fullbacks did."
Crossmaglen beat Mayobridge 0-14 to 0-9 to win what was then their fourth Ulster senior title.
14 November 2004; Mickey Linden, Mayobridge player manager, speaks to his players before the game. AIB Ulster Senior Club Football Championship Quarter Final Replay, Mayobridge v Ardara, Newry, Co. Down. Picture credit; David Maher / SPORTSFILE
In his episode of Laochra Gael, which aired in 2007, Linden addressed the incident.
"Benny Coulter gave me a ball, and the ball came over the top, and as I grabbed the ball and brought it forward, Francie just hit me straight up the front with a shoulder," he said.
"He hit me in the mouth and knocked my two front teeth out. These things, they're not part of the game, but unfortunately he never even got a card for it.
"I was taken out of the game. I wouldn't say it was the reason we were beaten but maybe it was a factor to the team."
Bellew said he was "probably" aware he had a reputation for being too rough on the putch, "but I don't think I was at all."
"Every time I was going for the ball, I was going for the ball, but if the man was there, he was there," he said.
I can’t quite believe I’m saying this…
Francie Bellew was the guest on the GAA Social. Nothing off-limits. Hope you enjoy https://t.co/HRYPTXbMXx
— Thomas Niblock (@thomasniblock) May 18, 2023
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