Mayo legend defends ref after Michael Murphy avoids red for clear punch

Scandalous.

The Donegal talisman somehow only received a yellow card from referee David Gough, despite his third and final strike hitting the Kingdom defender in the face.

It drew a lot of ire from rival fans, who have long been complaining about Murphy, in their opinion, getting away with 'dirty' plays.

However, speaking on The Sunday Game last night, Mayo legend Lee Keegan defended Gough, and placed the blame on the linesman, who was much closer to the incident.

Keegan said: "It was the most blatant red card. There's probably no excuse for it to be honest.

"The first dig is bad enough to the ribs, it's the second one that's probably inexcusable.

"Someone with his experience and knowhow of the game, to do something like that in a game like that is probably really disappointing.

"I know Jim [McGuinness] said he didn't see it. I could see it up i the stands today, it was as clear as sky.

"[David] Gough might be getting a bit of flack this evening. I can't blame Gough, I don't think he could see it. The linesman needs to be really strong there, it's directly in front of him and as clear a strike as you'll get.

"For me it's a red card all day...

"What's probably a bigger kick to Kerry is that he finished with 1-5. Two minutes later he gets a two-pointer, he has a huge influence on the game."