The 2021 All Ireland Senior Football Championship

No offence but the pace of your u 11 game an an all Ireland senior semi final are something quite different. It's easy as a mayo supporter to say move on one team won. Mayo did little of that after their losses in the past including yourself if I remember correctly. Pundits play to the audience and mcstay said it was a fair tackle in realtime and after viewing it again minutes later. He tried to squirm his way out of it on TV. If theses guys cannot call it right looking at screens I can see how lane missed how bad it was. Lane was also watching basquel bearing down on goal and has to focus on the play. Move on alright

Sour grapes. End of an era for Dublin.

Comparing the O'Shea incident to Lane's refereeing performance - I've heard it all now.

No one ended up in hospital, drinking through a straw and not able to go to work because of O'Shea going onto the pitch. Whether Lane saw the initial Small foul or not, that he didn't immediately stop play IS a huge error in judgement and should be called out - it's bad refereeing that could have had serious consequences not just on the outcome of the match (Basquel was running through on goal), but for the safety of the player concerned. McLoughlin dropped to the ground as though he had been shot, it was clear it was a head injury from the way he fell (didn't attempt to break his own fall at all, just dropped the ball like a stone) and it was blatant to everyone who watched it in real time in the stands that a serious injury had occurred. Even Faloon, the fourth official, knew immediately that play should be stopped but had no power to stop it.

Lane and Deegan are trained referees. So if it was clear to everyone in the stands and the fourth official, why wasn't it clear to them that something was very wrong?

I appreciate that Lane probably has regrets over how it was handled, but that doesn't mean the incident shouldn't be discussed in serious terms and that his role in it shouldn't be scrutinised - he's the man in charge, it's his call. While Lane is feeling a bit regretful and embarrassed about making a mistake, a young player is in hospital, having surgery, and is not only going to miss an All Ireland final, but is going to have his personal life greatly impacted by this. Wanna talk about Lane's mental health, well what about McLoughlin's as he recovers from an injury that will effect him on and off the field for quite some time? What about his family, who had to watch all of this unfold and watch a referee decide that the game didn't even warrant stopping in that moment? Why should Lane be protected from criticism when something serious has occurred under his watch? The "but mental health" card will only get you so far - people have to be held accountable too. Lane got it wrong, as did Deegan, and player welfare was compromised. There is absolutely nothing wrong with criticising that in the strongest terms when someone has ended up in hospital with a serious injury.

The commentary surrounding Lane was on point and accurate...

he has chosen to referee at a high level of the sport, he puts himself out there. He wasn’t marched to Croke Park with a bayonet at his back. He is well aware of his responsibility and the scrutiny that comes with it and criticism that comes with not meeting that responsibility and him systematically not performing over 90 plus minutes.

if his mental health isn’t up to it or has concerns about his family wellbeing he should have packed it in, that goes for anybody in that position... by the nature of it, a passionate sport played out in front of normally 80 plus thousands and literally millions around the world, he made a bôllocks of it... this being a democracy, people have the ability to express that, as much as they would to praise him had that been warranted....

but no, we have more of the mental healthers trying to shut down the ability of ordinary people, pundits and commentators from expressing their opinions now on a referee in a football game. Madness, Disingenuous as fûck...

The decisions evened out. Byrne's was a stonewall black card. Basquel's was a bit iffy, and some refs wouldn't give it. Small should have been sent off and McCarthy was lucky to stay on. The over carrying decisions were correct and brave calls, the type never given against Dublin in the past. Double hops, over carrying, picked off the ground, shoulders to the chest and general cynical play as perfected by guys like Philly, the type of decisions never ever given against Dublin in Croker, particularly when the Hill is full. Lane set out is stall early when booking Rock.

Funny, there was nothing correct and brave watching him overlook Mayo lads over carrying, a few of their boys thought it was six nations rugby they were running so far with the ball..nothing correct and brave about that or the Mayo lads constantly booting the ball away or actually lying on it when it was a Dublin free or sideline ball, no sanctions apart from a couple of meters if that on one occasion even though it happened again and again .. people only want the rules applied evenly, fairly, but when one team benefits on the back of a refereeing performance that in its incompetence over 90 minutes literally hasn’t been seen in my lifetime and hopefully it won’t be again at least guaranteed not by Lane.... a refereeing shítshow for the ages decided the All Ireland semi or went quite a ways to. A bad day for the sport.

its habitual now with them, that wasn’t reactionary, it was trained into them...tactical...when the final happens watch, the very same carry on. It’s ingrained now... it’s why neutral sporting people will be rooting for Kerry... A team of footballers over sporting dissidents.

Since the 5-in-a-row year it's been unreadable.

I used to love this thread every year. The truncates championships don't help it. Barely gets up a head of steam.

Ah Strumms would you stop.

Who I their right mind would root for Kerry over Mayo? Bar Kerry, Galway and Roscommon people.

Complaining about cynicism in Mayo and in the same breath praising Themmuns in the Long Grass is beyond silly.

You are calling my post ridiculous and blinkered yet you think you can speak for the people of 30 other counties, ... Jesus I’ve heard it all now,

I'm not blaming Lane for that. I've said already that I accept that referees aren't going to see absolutely every foul and from Lane's angle, he probably did think the Small challenge was fair. That's just the way it goes sometimes. The previous poster was suggesting that the public criticism of Lane on TSG etc was out of line. My point was merely emphasising that whatever embarrassment or public criticism Lane is receiving is nothing compared to what the player is going through right now and the impact that injury will have on his life for the next few months, and it actually could have been a lot worse for McLoughlin. That Lane didn't stop play is the crux of the issue, and I've said that several times.

Tickets bought. Will be first time in Croke Park since Kerry/Dublin drawn league game in Feb 2020 (I think).

Looking forward to it.

Your spectacular meltdown on here over the weekend was one of the funniest things I've seen on boards.

Mayo for Sam

You would swear that it was lane that hit McLaughlin with his shoulder. Even if play was stopped help wouldn't have got to him any faster. The time between him being hit and the ball going out of play wasn't 30 seconds and medics always run on anyway. Mayo weren't too concerned about Shay Walsh and his injury and are no angels. In fact I've just looked at it and the ball is out of play in under 15 seconds and when they turn around the mayo medics are with McLaughlin already.