Cork referee Diarmuid Kirwan has defended his handling of last September's All-Ireland hurling final, insisting that he was 'delighted' was his performance. The Offaly native came under attack for his failure to award Tipperary's Seamus Callanan a penalty, while awarding a highly contentious penalty to Richie Power at the other end, which was expertly converted by Henry Shefflin and ultimately decided the final. However, speaking on the All Star tour to Argentina where he took charge of Saturday's exhibition game between the 2008 and 2009 selections, Kirwan said he stood over his decisions. He also expressed his opposition to the introduction of a video referee, fearing it would make the games too 'stop start'. Dealing first with the Callanan incident, he recalled: "At the time, I was just running behind Seamus, who was going away from me, and suddenly Tommy Walsh crossed in front of me. The next thing I saw Seamus on the ground, I said to myself - 'Good God, what's after happening to him?', but as a referee, you can't blow that whistle unless you're 100 per cent sure. "I didn't see what happened, but everyone watching on television did, as did many of those in the ground." Commenting on the late penalty he awarded to Kilkenny, he continued: "Your biggest critic is yourself. Every referee analyses his own performance after every game, and all I can say, hand on heart, is that I was delighted the way the game went for me, and I am still happy with the way I called my decisions. "I refereed the game the same way throughout and I made that call the same as I refereed the rest of the game and I stand over my decision - I have no problem with that. Ye (the media) have a job to do and I have my job to do." Tweet

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