Analysing the big calls

| By Adam Moynihan

Kerry v Derry was a wonderful advert for real Gaelic football. It was open, action-packed, and full of skill and passion.

Unfortunately, a lot of the post-match talk has focussed on the referee and the decisions he made over the course of the game. Here’s my analysis of the key incidents.

• 28’ Diarmuid O’Connor black card. The Kerry midfielder is adjudged to have tripped Brendan Rogers as the Derry midfielder attempts to get up and move the ball on. The rules are very clear on this type of infraction. McQuillan correctly issues a black card.

• 32’ Shane Ryan clashes with Shane McGuigan. A loose square pass high up the field from Tom O’Sullivan forces Ryan to scamper and gather a bouncing ball under pressure from McGuigan. Ryan jumps, collects, and turns his body. I think he is expecting a much heavier hit from McGuigan, but the Derry man stands his ground. Ryan’s backside hits McGuigan flush in the face, knocking him to the floor. Ryan breaks forward and kicks a point.

For me, Ryan has every right to go for the ball and once he leaves the ground, he has every right to turn his body to protect himself. McQuillan waved play on, which was the correct call.

• 37’ David Clifford shoulders McGuigan. Clifford catches his opposite number with a bone-crunching but legal shoulder. McQuillan incorrectly awards Derry a tap-over free and also issues a yellow card, much to the Kerry captain’s bemusement.

• 66’ McKinless called for a foul on Stephen O’Brien. My initial reaction was that this one was soft and watching it back hasn’t changed my mind. McKinless does make contact in an awkward fashion but no Kerry fan would have complained if play carried on. Instead, McQuillan awards a close in free. Kerry score to close the gap to one.

• 67’ Clifford is fouled by McKaigue. Derry fans were unhappy with this one as well but McKaigue clearly pulls him back. An obvious foul.

• 75’ Time ticks on… Four minutes of additional time were signalled by the match officials. There are 74 minutes and 32 seconds on the clock when Ryan comes and clears what appears to be Derry’s last attempt at fashioning an equalising goal. Several players on both sides stop moving, expecting the final whistle.

The whistle doesn’t come, however, so Kerry carry the ball forward. The clock reads 75-plus when Odhran Lynch intercepts David Clifford’s attempted pass to Tom O’Sullivan. Still no final whistle. Derry go up the pitch. McKinless wins a free, and then…

• 76’ McKinless kicks O’Shea. When McKinless attempts to take the free quickly, O’Shea knocks the ball out of his hands. The Derry player forcefully kicks O’Shea across the midriff – so forcefully that he hurts himself and needs to be stretchered off. To my mind, this was the only blatant red card that McQuillan missed. (Having said that, it wouldn’t have affected the result.)

The referee made mistakes on both sides. A couple of those decisions went against Derry in the closing stages so their frustration is understandable, but at the end of the day it was their failure to convert their chances that let them down.

Ultimately, this idea that referee’s go out to screw teams over or that they have agendas is ridiculous. If Derry had managed to score a goal with that last chance and then win in extra time, Kerry fans would feel aggrieved with the same referee for the same refereeing performance. I think that tells its own story.