After a week lambasting Sean Cavanagh - and Tyrone in general - for destroying the sanctity and purity of GAA sportsmanship and fairness, maybe its time to take another view of the cynical foul to try and put Sean Cavanagh's abomonation into some perspective.

The most cynical foul I've ever seen was while playing for CBS Tralee in a Corn Ui Mhuiri final. We were 2 points ahead with about 2 minutes remaining when a North Mon player broke through. Our wing back ran after him for 30 yards, knew he wasn't going to catch him fairly so climbed up on his back to bring him down just outside the area. We eventually won by 4 and our hero was feted all evening and became a celebrity for the rest of that year in school for THAT tackle.
It was an awful lot worse than Sean Cavanagh's challenge. Indeed, if Sean Cavanagh's 2 cynical fouls got married and had a bad tempered child, it still wouldn't be as bad as this one.

Luis Suarez's handball against Ghana was the most cynical thing I've seen in any sport though - but I'll likely get killed formentioning that on a GAA thread.

kingdom_come (Kerry) - Posts: 83 - 09/08/2013 15:03:21    1457575

Can open. Worms everywhere.

benjyyy (Donegal) - Posts: 1432 - 09/08/2013 15:44:07    1457645

Think Conor Gormley elbowing Jason Sherlock as he ran by (smashed him in the face) as they were going towards the changing room was the most blatant and cynical not to mention cowardly thing I seen in a GAA ground. Sherlock was called ashore after five of the second as his bell had been rung!!!

The German Goalkeeper Harold Shumacher was super cynical.

Not that Im his biggest fan, but the Aussies done a number on Graham Geraghty which I can only describe as assault.

JayP (Dublin) - Posts: 1772 - 09/08/2013 16:45:45    1457734

JayP you should seek help with your Tyrone obsession.

MB1 (Tyrone) - Posts: 360 - 09/08/2013 17:01:45    1457740

If we want to go down the Dublin v. Tyrone road then perhaps All Ireland Final 1995 JayP?? Charlie Redmond had been sent off by the Paddy Russell but remained on the field for some time after to help Dublin win by a point before he was asked to leave for a second time. Now that's cynical. Perfectly good equalising point not given that day too. Still I remember we were all told at the time that Dublin "deserved" an All Ireland, and who could argue with that.

johnboy7 (Tyrone) - Posts: 79 - 09/08/2013 17:35:59    1457773

Watch this and then slabber about cynicism JayP,its not only Tyrone lad!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cNoUx9iWjQ

TheGateKeeper (Tyrone) - Posts: 2843 - 09/08/2013 17:56:12    1457784

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cNoUx9iWjQ
JayP, this is a must watch for you lad!

TheGateKeeper (Tyrone) - Posts: 2843 - 09/08/2013 18:19:42    1457804

Penrose stupidly in front of an official hits Dessie Mone , Mone who is hit in the shoulder starts holding his face , one as bad as the other.

AthCliath (Dublin) - Posts: 4347 - 09/08/2013 18:55:13    1457841

A cynical foul by a ref, blew a game up in Na Rossa with 10 minutes to go.

Donegalman (None) - Posts: 3852 - 09/08/2013 18:56:23    1457842

Donegalman
County: All
Posts: 886

1457842
A cynical foul by a ref, blew a game up in Na Rossa with 10 minutes to go.
don't start taking about refs or I might have to get out the 95 final VT it was shortly after this I had a hatred for Jack Russell's and Tipperary spring water .....

fortyfive (Tyrone) - Posts: 5929 - 09/08/2013 19:12:30    1457857

Many a cynical foul I have committed and I have been on the receiving end of many more. And I will keep doing it if I have to. Pity I can't go for a pint with Brolly because of it.

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8451 - 09/08/2013 19:39:17    1457866

lads leading by 2 pts last night .... cant get my players to cynical foul anybody... inevitable happens ..opposition score a winning goal.. oh to have even someone who would do a tackle to break up play

conair0 (Antrim) - Posts: 45 - 09/08/2013 20:25:46    1457895

Any won wud do Wat Sean Cavanagh did. Great tackle I wud say. Damn rite.

KillenGael (Tyrone) - Posts: 2 - 09/08/2013 20:33:45    1457898

Watching Jimmy's winning matches and at 13.02 you can clearly see Rory Kavanagh pulling Sean Cavanaghs shirt back as he is bearing down on goal around the 21m line. Sean was right when he said he is the player who is probably pulled down the most in so called 'cynical fouls'

Nanderson (Down) - Posts: 83 - 09/08/2013 21:01:49    1457922

[url=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvKEBxmXIko
there is the link for anyone wanting to watch it

Nanderson (Down) - Posts: 83 - 09/08/2013 21:02:33    1457923

Nanderson
County: Down
Posts: 68

1457922
Watching Jimmy's winning matches and at 13.02 you can clearly see Rory Kavanagh pulling Sean Cavanaghs shirt back as he is bearing down on goal around the 21m line. Sean was right when he said he is the player who is probably pulled down the most in so called 'cynical fouls'

-------
Yeah well if Sean calls clamping a defender's arm and throwing himself on the ground being cynically fouled then I agree that this happens a lot 'to' him. I personally call it cheating.

Joxer (Dublin) - Posts: 4746 - 10/08/2013 11:46:09    1458027

Here's a classic from Mick

link

Its right at the end of the clip, quite funny actually

On another note during the melee who is the Cork man that throws himself into the middle of the brawl and ends up missing everyone and everything?

omaghjoe (Tyrone) - Posts: 1191 - 10/08/2013 15:18:08    1458146

Yeah well if Sean calls clamping a defender's arm and throwing himself on the ground being cynically fouled then I agree that this happens a lot 'to' him. I personally call it cheating.

I agree with what you're saying about that tackle of Darren Hughes but Cavanaghs attitude now is 'if you cant beat them join them'.

Nanderson (Down) - Posts: 83 - 10/08/2013 16:52:28    1458224

This was posted as a new thread but as the subject matter is the same it has been incorporated here.

Joncarter
Galway

When a soccer player dives, hes a cheat, when a cyclist takes an illegal steroid, hes a cheat, when a Gaa team make illegal tackles, theyre 'doing what it takes to win". I believe that GAA players are plunging to serious depths in order to win, but rather than face up to this reality, we as a community are trying to fob it off by saying "sure its win at all costs", or "it was always like this". Cynical fouling has always happened, but never to anywhere near the extent it is happening now.
We are used to putting our players up on a pedestal. They don't demand money, they don't leave their counties etc. but I cant think of any other sport in the world where a player can cheat, which is what SC did last weekend, and be almost universally praised by his peers.
Is this rush to make excuses for SCs tackle an example of the Gaa communities reluctance to recognize shortcomings in its players, or is it borne out of a general belief that its okay to cheat in order to win.
I believe its the former. (the lesser of two evils)
What do ye think?

Administrator (None) - Posts: 2275 - 10/08/2013 17:43:31    1458273

Just wondering how many of ye have seen the poll on the main page asking if a referee should issue a straight red for a cynical foul.

I was amazed to see that less than 50% (as of time of writing this) of voters said "No, its not in the rules", with others choosing the other options of "He is doing the game a favour" and "He could say its dangerous play"

IT IS NOT DANGEROUS PLAY unless of course the foul itself could potentially cause serious injury. Take Sean Cavanagh's foul on Conor McManus as the example - simply not dangerous.

As for the referee doing the game a favour - how can you say he is doing so if he is blatantly ignoring the rules. How then do players know what constitutes a foul if the referee is ruling based on his opinion rather than on a set of rules that all players should be aware of?

It is astounding to me that anyone could think that it is up to the referee to make any decision other than the one he is instructed to make by the rules of the game.

Change the rules, yes. Don't blame the referees for getting a decision 100% right - afterall, Cavanagh would not have committed the foul if it were a red card offence.

cavanman47 (Cavan) - Posts: 5271 - 11/08/2013 10:02:13    1458450