Former Mayo football and current Donegal referee Eugene McHale has described Austin Gleeson's All-Ireland final reprieve as "totally unacceptable".

The Waterford star escaped punishment after apparently pulling off Cork opponent Luke Meade's helmet during the first-half of Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final, freeing him up for next month's decider against Galway.

McHale, who played for Mayo in the 1985 All-Ireland SFC semi-final, believes that James Owens, who refereed the weekend's big game at Croke Park, has considerable questions to answer.

"It is just mind-boggling," McHale is quoted saying by The Irish Sun. "So the referee was happy with the way he officiated. I think that is totally unacceptable and shows the GAA in a very poor light.

"And I am sure that when James Owens views this incident again, the only conclusion he can come to is that he made an error of judgment.

"You can't have a referee just saying he is happy with the way he dealt with the matter because subsequent video evidence showed that he was incorrect.

"It was clearly deliberate and I think it is time we looked at the referee's report always being sacrosanct.

"I think that the CCCC should be given the sole power to adjudicate on retrospective incidents and that would take the pressure off referees."

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