THE fallout from last Sunday's controversial All Ireland football semi-final has been further soured by claims that one of the Kerry players was bitten by a Tyrone player during the tempestuous contest at Croke Park.

The Sunday Tribune has learned that the Kerry player was bitten on the hand during the match and later showed the visible bitemark to several teammate and some of his fellow clubmen in the players' lounge after the game.

"He was shaking and blowing on his right hand like you do when it's sore, " said one witness.

"One of the fellas said, 'what's wrong with you', and he said, 'sure, they bit me'. He showed us it. It was quite visible. There was a cut on his hand. There was a hole in his hand. He probably should've had it looked after but all he wanted to do was have a quiet drink and move on, " the witness said.

Neither the player in question or his family wanted to comment on the incident, but sources close to him insist he was both bitten and spat at last Sunday. "He doesn't want to make a big deal of it, " said a source in the Kerry camp.

"But it definitely happened."

When contacted yesterday, Kerry county secretary Eamon O'Sullivan said Kerry was unlikely to take any action over the biting incident.