Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final between Limerick and Kilkenny ended in controversy after Cillian Buckley got a touch to Darragh O’Donovan’s last minute sideline cut.
O’Donovan had a chance to level the game with the last play of the match but his sideline cut appeared to take a deflection of Buckley before going wide and behind for a puck out.
All-Ireland winner Donal Óg Cusack said that referees, linesman and officials must do a better job and players don’t deserve mistakes like this at this end of the season.
Were Limerick denied a late equalising chance? Cillian Buckley got a touch to Darragh O'Donovan's last minute sideline cut pic.twitter.com/Ce2WAQxAoj
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 27, 2019
“Cillian Buckley did what he always does, trying to stop the ball,” Cusack said on The Saturday Game. “It looks like it actually comes off his hand, his fist and that’s a definite 65.
“Two things; that ball was obviously going to go more towards the goals or across the square but you’d have to seriously question what the linesman is doing, what the umpire is doing and what’s the referee doing?
“Kilkenny were deserving victors but call a spade a spade there, that should have been a 65.”
The former Cork goalkeeper also advocated for replay technology and said that the incident raises major doubts over those charged with officiating the game.
“This highlights serious question marks over officials. Like players do not deserve this.
“The game does not deserve this. We should be talking about a fantastic Kilkenny performance and all the great skills we’ve seen out there, but again, to repeat, you had a referee, a linesman and umpires.
“You would have also had technology up there and all it would take is a minute to go back and it would have easily clarified the situation.”
