All-Ireland SFC final replay referee Maurice Deegan has admitted that he should have dismissed Dublin's John Small in the early stages of their victory over Mayo in October.

By the letter of the law, Small, who was 'Man of the Match' in the drawn final, should have been black carded after he hand-tripped opponent Andy Moran seven minutes into the replay clash at Croke Park.

Looking back on it now, Deegan feels that the Ballymun man's dismissal "probably would have set a better tone to the game".

"We're wired up and all that type of thing," the Laois official explained. "I went into the linesman and he didn't see it properly. And I even asked him again after that.

"We weren't 100pc sure. And if I had anything from that match, that's the main regret - that I didn't black-card Johnny Small.

"I'm just being perfectly honest now. Because if I had black-carded him at the time, it probably would have set a better tone to the game.

"I was very disappointed with myself that I missed that. Apart from that, I was happy enough. That's being honest."

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