James McCarthy says he couldn't believe it when he was black-carded 25 minutes into Dublin's drawn All-Ireland final against Mayo.

The Dublin wing back was dismissed by referee Conor Lane after bumping into Cillian O'Connor in innocuous fashion ten minutes from the break.

"It was a bit of disbelief really," the Ballymun Kickhams ace told RTE. "We had the ball and I was trying to carry the move forward. Obviously there was a coming-together of myself and Cillian O'Connor. I don't think there was much in it either way really.

"I think the linesman said I body-checked. I was really disappointed. Of all things you expect out of an All-Ireland final you don't expect to be over after 25 minutes unless you get injured. I suppose one of the biggest days of your year, biggest day of your life, to be over like that it's very disappointing."

The story had a happy ending for McCarthy as the Dubs won the replay. He still believes the black card is worth persevering with: "The idea of it is probably right, to stop the cynical fouls, which is great. But like, there's some black cards being given for very little or nothing.

"Maybe for the marginal calls, err on the side of caution. Maybe just give a free instead of giving a black card. The refs have a lot going on in games, they are under a lot of pressure, they are very tough games to ref. They have time-keeping, they have to keep an eye on both sides of the pitch.

"You can't be too hard on the refs. It is a very tough job to do. Maybe they need more help. I know the linesmen do help them as much as they can but it is very tough now. There's so many rules, so many cards, I think it's a lot on their shoulders."

Tweet

Most Read Stories