Shane McGrath has labelled the bizarre incident involving referee James Owens during last Saturday's Munster SHC game at Walsh Park as 'an absolute disgrace'.

The Wexford match official came in for criticism after he ran across the eyeline of Tipperary goalkeeper Barry Hogan just before Waterford's Stephen Bennett dispatched a penalty to the net in the third minute.

"When the referee runs across in front of your goalie as one of the best ball-strikers in the country is taking a penalty, that doesn't help things," the former Tipp All-Ireland winning midfielder told the RTÉ GAA Podcast.

"That was an absolute disgrace. I am all for referees getting respect and everything but what James Owens did the other day - running across in Barry Hogan's line of sight - is (a disgrace).

"I was at an U11 camogie blitz today. If it happened in an U11 camogie blitz, the referee or someone would have said 'take the penalty again'.

"We are on about a team of officials. We are on about 'give respect, get respect'. I get that right.

"Could someone not have said to him, the two umpires or the linesman, 'James, you are going to have to take that again... you ran across in front of the goalie.'

"Barry Hogan is a nice guy. Maybe he was too nice the other day. Maybe as a goalie he should have ran out to James Owens and said, 'you ran out in front of me there.' This wasn't last minute of the game to win it, but it set the tone for the game."

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