Shane Duffy has laughed off his foul on Aaron Connolly, after footage of the incident was shared widely online.
The Irish pair go back a long way, with Duffy being a mainstay at Brighton as a young Connolly was making an impression on the Premier League a few years ago.
However, they were on opposite sides on the opening day in the EFL Championship, as Duffy made his competitive debut for Norwich, while Connolly got 20 minutes off the bench for Hull.
Late in the game, the two came face-to-face when Duffy left the 23-year-old writhing in pain after a foul which led to the Derryman being booked.
Meant no harm tbf 90th min against him nah take the yellow 😂😂 love the kid ❤️ https://t.co/YpM6qvSTLu
— Shane Duffy (@shaneduffy) August 6, 2023
Shane Duffy responds to foul on Aaron Connolly
Of course, there was no malice intended, and Duffy confirmed much on Sunday afternoon by sharing footage of the incident along with the caption: Meant no harm tbf, 90th min against him, nah take the yellow, love the kid."
There was much anticipation to see Duffy line out in a Norwich shirt after a couple of years of stagnation at both club and international level, but the afternoon got off to a bad start when a mix-up with Ben Gibson led to Hull opening the scoring.
Adam Idah in the 96th minute😁pic.twitter.com/VxoOTtSJTC
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) August 5, 2023
Stephen Kenny watches Norwich and Hull players
He was generally solid for the rest of the game though, as John Rowe levelled things before another Irishman in Adam Idah bundled home a dramatic late equaliser for the Canaries.
Ireland boss Kenny was watching on from the stands at Carrow Road, as Idah and Andrew Omobamidele came off the bench for Norwich, amid speculation linking the latter to a move to AC Milan.
