"I thought that Maurice Deegan in fairness in the second half did something to Tyrone that normally happens between consenting adults in private".

So said the incomparable Joe Brolly when suggesting that the Red Hands got a raw deal from the Laois referee in their All-Ireland SFC semi-final defeat to Kerry.

While the RTE pundit stopped short of blaming Deegan for Tyrone's loss, he felt he did them no favours by issuing Ronan McNabb with a black card for a heavy challenge on Colm Cooper, giving Shane Enright a yellow card instead of a black and turning down Padraig McNulty's late penalty appeal (the Tyrone sub was booked for 'diving').

"The penalty decision, the black card decision that was given against Tyrone and McNabb when it was clearly a yellow card, and the refs are being coached on this. Shane Enright getting away with a yellow card when it was a clear black card," he argued.

"I thought that it was very disruptive to Tyrone. It was a definite penalty in the 65th minute.

"But I will say this, the decisive factor in the game was Tyrone failing to take the goal chances that they created up that middle channel.

"There were a series of poor decisions that went in Kerry's favour."

After watching replays of the penalty appeal in the company of anchor Michael Lyster and fellow panellists Colm O'Rourke and Ciaran Whelan, Brolly added: "If that had been Colm Cooper at the other side, it was a definite penalty."

Tweet

Most Read Stories