Hibernian quiet over O’Connor

Friday 16 September 2011

Hibernian have refused to comment on whether the club knew about claims that Garry O'Connor tested positive for cocaine while at Birmingham City when they re-signed the striker earlier this summer, writes Darren Johnstone.

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The Easter Road club sought to blank all questions relating to O’Connor when Colin Calderwood, the club’s manager, attended yesterday’s press conference ahead of tomorrow’s away game at Dunfermline.

O’Connor has been under the spotlight after the Channel 4 programme Dispatches, which was aired on Monday night, claimed that the 28-year-old served a secret two-month Football Association suspension during the 2009/10 campaign for using the drug.Barnsley were furious over the report, after insisting they were in the dark about O’Connor’s ban when they signed him, initially on loan, the following season.David Forsyth, a spokesperson for Hibernian, flanked Calderwood when the manager addressed the press and he said the manager was not able to speak about the programme because of a separate allegation about the player.O’Connor has been accused of possessing cocaine from an alleged incident in the capital in May and his lawyer, Jonathan Campbell, last week asked Edinburgh Sheriff Court to continue the matter without plea for three weeks.Asked if Hibs knew about the allegations made by Dispatches before they re-signed the player, Forsyth said: “We wouldn’t comment on it, at all.”Hibernian brought O’Connor back to Easter Road in June on a 12-month deal, five years after selling him to Lokomotiv Moscow for £1.6m and his performances so far this term have reignited hopes of a Scotland recall.Calderwood said the player is in contention to play at East End Park.

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Hibernian quiet over O’Connor

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