If you followed the letter of the law, referee Conor Lane could have felt justified in flashing at least 17 black cards. Sunday’s All-Ireland was ferocious but it was far from filthy.
The black card has been with us for less than three full years and yet we are still debating what should and should not merit it.
Lane only showed one player a black card during the 2-9 to 0-15 draw and it saw Dublin’s John McCarthy simmering on the sideline well before the first half was over.
Lane seemed to be conscious of the wet, slippery conditions and he let a lot slide. In Michael Darragh MacAuley’s case, it was quite literal.
McCarthy’s afternoon was ended after intervention from a sideline official. When it was his call to make, he let the boys have at it. MacAuley, Diarmuid Connolly, Colm Boyle, Séamus O’Shea (twice) and Cillian O’Connor all benefited from his leniency.
Speaking to us after the drawn game, O’Shea looked genuinely bemused when he was asked about ‘a number of controversial black card decisions’.
“Why?” he replied. “How many where there?”
O’Shea claims he did not see Cillian O’Connor haul Darren Daly to the deck after 73 minutes. He continued:
“To be honest, there’s so much going on out there. It’s hard to tell when you are out there on the pitch.
“There’s fellas flying all over the pitch. Maybe there could have been a couple more but, to be fair to the ref, it is hard to call at times. There’s fellas flying around the place at 100 miles an hour.”
As for his McCarthy’s black card, O’Shea didn’t see that either, to be honest.
Head down, say nothing. Move on to the next one.
We review a crazy All-Ireland final, catch up with Séamus O’Shea and chat to Lee Keegan about his special relationship with Diarmuid Connolly. Listen below or subscribe here on iTunes.
