There were more goals in the All-Ireland U-21 final than usual this year, as Mayo put five past Cork as the Connacht county strode away from the Rebels in the dying minutes. Cork goalkeeper Anthony Casey was lambasted for his performance on social media, and fired off a tweet yesterday in defense.
But now the Rebel keeper has revealed just how shocking and scarring the level of abuse he has gotten. Speaking to Will Slattery, Casey described his heartbreaking emotions immediately after the game:
I wanted to be alone as soon as the game ended, away from all the cheering Mayo fans. As I walked to the dressing-room my manager came up and put his arms around me and tried to console me and I just apologised. I couldn't believe what had happened.
I showered on my own and when the lads came into the dressing-room I had already changed. I tried to apologise to them but I couldn't pull myself together. It was a really shitty feeling, I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
Then Casey looked at social media, and the beginning of the storm started:
I turned on my phone and I had loads of Twitter notifications. I saw one that said I should have been in the Mayo team photo and another saying I must have gotten good odds on Cork to lose the game. Another said I couldn't save the ball or kick it out and it was the worst individual performance he had ever seen, and that was from a Cork fella.
This eventually lead to Casey addressing all of the abuse he received in a tweet yesterday:
Made a mistake! Im human! I go to college, work and do everything that every amateur footballer does! Thanks for the support! #alwaysarebel
— Anthony Casey (@AnthonyCasey3) May 2, 2016
The keeper revealed that Mayo senior football goalkeeper Robert Hennelly reached out to him to offer his support. Casey said that Hennelly gave him some fantastic advice about mistakes that he wish he had already learned, but he will look to learn from the horrible final experience for the rest of his GAA career.
Clearly though, no matter how many mistakes a person makes in a game - it's only sport. It doesn't warrant the barrage of abuse that Casey received. No 20-year-old amateur deserves that, and Casey had a message for everyone who commented about him or to him following the game:
It's not fair at all. I'm only 20 and it's an amateur sport. We all have jobs. We all have girlfriends or partners or wives or children. Nasty comments can impact them too. It takes guts to go out and play for your county and then you get slaughtered by people sitting behind a phone or a keyboard.
There are football players in the Premier League on millions that don't get the abuse that we get.
That's probably worth remembering sometimes.
See Also: Cork U21 Goalkeeper Hits Back At Abuse On Social Media Over Final Loss
Picture credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach / SPORTSFILE
