That must take the prize for the most ridiculous, blinkered post on this thread (and there's a lot of competition). I'm not from Mayo but I thought they were brilliant and very sporting given what they had to put up with (from the ref and Dublin). I'll be hoping they win the All Ireland and, if its v Kerry, so will thirty other counties (excepting yourself).
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.
This place has become a cesspit. Some posts bordering on libel.
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.
This should be played on the big screen before all games in Croke Park, and before the Sunday Game/ Sky Sports TV coverage.
The amount of people calling for a Black Card for Davy Byrne and slating Conor Lane over this incident is incredible. He applies the rule to the letter of the law.
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...
Has been the sole remit of his involvement on the panel for the last few years. Hanging on to get a couple of handy AI medals so he can promote himself as one of the most successful players of all-time. A wolf in sheep's clothing who is not the nice guy he tries to portray himself as.
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.
Worse than just a pinch...he waited for the player to react and then appealed to the officials that he was the injured party. Fairly despicable behaviour that immediately removes any hopes of him being justifiably called a 'sportsman'. Sent on to do a job - provoke and flame. And he did it.
Sour grapes. End of an era for Dublin.
Hard to figure out as he didn't seem to add anything. Possibly to rattle the younger players, which it didn't do.
I thought so too initially but, again, look at the replay in slow motion. Comerford takes a couple of solos then speeds up. As he's surrounded, he puts the brakes on, taking 5 or 6 steps before changing direction. Overall, I count 10 steps that he took between solos. Referees generally let things go up to 6-7 steps but anything over 8 steps and you cannot complain when the referee calls you on it. I don't disagree about the inconsistency, but it was the right decision to penalise Comerford in this instance.
I could have imagined this but I thought I saw Philly needling and pinching a Mayo player soon after he came on.
What exactly is his role on the Dublin team these days? To wind people up? Pathetic really.
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
There is no way that that is over carrying. The referee would be blowing up the game every 30 secs if it was. Conroy took twice the amount of steps for one of his scores (i've no problem with that though).
Comerford was blown up for indecision. If you look flustered at all on the ball you'll get whistled for over carrying. It rarely has anything to do with the number of steps you actually take. Another one of my GAA gripes.
Certain cynical play is a black card. Deliberately colliding with a player off the ball is a black card offence. Pulling a player's shirt, either on or off the ball is not a black card. Shirt pulling is not "colliding" with a player. Basquel's black card was a textbook example of that kind of offence. The GAA did a video of this particular offence here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR-JNtk5GrI
And the below is directly from the rules regarding black cards. The Dublin player was smart enough not to stray over the line with any of the below fouls. It was an incredibly cynical foul and should be included in the below list, but it's not.
Category II Infractions – Cynical Behaviour
5.10 To deliberately pull down an opponent.
5.11 To deliberately trip an opponent with hand(s), arm, leg or foot.
5.12 To deliberately collide with an opponent after he has played the ball away or for the purpose of taking him out of the movement of play.
5.13 To remonstrate in an aggressive manner with a Match Official.
5.14 To threaten or to use abusive or provocative language or gestures to an opponent or teammate
Cynical play is a black card offence now. Every one of the analysts put this offence as a black card. With an offence is off the ball whether it is cynical or not come into play. You do not need to pull down the player is that is why body checks are black card offences. This was a body check from behind. It was cynical play and is what the black cards came in for. If you read the rule on BC cynical play is covered in it
I can see Hickey's dark glasses on there. Only assuming his guide dog is out of shot.
You really think it takes modern conditioning and millions of euro to take a team capable of running for 60 minutes and turn it into a team capable of running for 70?
The issue was not teams gassing, it was that Dublin had an excellent panel, and they had players sitting on their bench or even outside their match squad that would walk into any other team.
That is not the case any more, Dublin did not have the same depth to change the game at the weekend. Look I am no expert, but IMO better Mayo teams than the one on Saturday have lost to Dublin the past few years, it is clear the Dubs are not the team they were.
I was trying to stay out of this thread, as I said earlier its a game, move on one team won another didn't but just wanted to add this.
I reffed an u11 game last night, one of the opposition got hit in the head, miliseconds, but as per what we are told, we stopped the game as it was an obvious head injury. Deegan and Lane, both within 10m of the incident are well trained to know what they should have done.
How AOS and Lane are in the same category is beyond me. One is responsible for ALL player safety and their decisions on the pitch directly relate to how a player finishes the game. In the case of too many decisions Lane AND his team missed way too much. These guys are selected as the elite refs in the country due to their ability to make the correct decisions. Unfortunatly and its not just not involving Mayo but Lane has missed way to much over the years. In Eoghan McLaughlins case now he has been left with the chance to play in an AI final, to live his life properly for the next 3 months, use a straw to feed himself, have to get his teeth replaced and that could have been Con O'Callaghan or ANO from any other team. Bringing AOS into this is just weird sorry. He missed a free big deal.
On top of listening to Pillar Caffery been wheeled out now for the last few days, we are accused as been whingers but his excuses and whining is new level.
To be fair, I actually agree with the original poster. While it is blatant and obvious cynicism, the rule is that only a deliberate pull down is a black card offence. In this case, the Dublin player blatantly tugged the jersey to stop the player getting away, but didn't cause the Mayo player to go to ground (the Mayo player went to ground themselves). I think 100% it should be a black card offence, but it's not as per the rules.
Did he question O'Sheas bottle or his actual ability to play Gaelic Football because that what he did to Lane, its cowardly and playing to the gallery and he should have been pulled on it.
How can anyone say that he saw that McLaughlin was in trouble as a result of the hit, maybe he didn't, we are talking mili seconds here. I'm sure if he realised th player was knocked out he would have stopped thd game straight away.
Well said.
the ref was never going to win no matter what. Just look at both set of supporters and the way both are saying they should have had a million frees in their favour.
Well that's not really true. About two minutes after McConville commented on Lane's performance, they showed a clip of AOS coming in from the sideline to tussle with Philly McMahon. McConville commented that is was the only thing AOS had done all game (or something along those lines).
You don't need a slow mo reply to see that McLaughlin was nearly prone as he was falling. Foul or not, Lane risked the player's health by not stopping the game.
I'd agree with that except the black card - blatantly obvious cynicism. And to give a yellow card shows he saw it, but bottled the decision.
I can understand the ref thinking the shoulder in real time was a fair shoulder. He can be excused for missing the elbow at the end of 70 minutes. Missing paddy Smalls high hit with a closed fist as well, I thought it was just high myself. You could say he let the game flow by not giving frees for every small tug. Not giving the black card at the end of the game could also be excuse as he thought the player just pulled him back and the Mayo player fell over easily.
However letting the game continue after the Small shoulder was inexcusable. He saw the player fall and not move. He deserves to be called out as a major part of his job is player safety and he failed badly on that count.
You were going well until the bizarre last paragraph. Comparing a player's form on the day to a litany of missed offences in favour of one team.
That is the issue here.
I have huge sympathy for referees, single handedly taking charge of 30 players on a huge playing surface in front of thousands of passionate fans with the live TV cameras rolling. Every decision scrutinised by "experts" who have the benefit of slow motion replays from all angles while the man making the decision has to do it in real time while running around the pitch and having to keep track of injury time, subs, ticks, cards and players diving, sledging and trying to pull the wool over his eyes at every turn. Referees are in a no win situation and I don't know why anyone would do it. There should be two refs one for each half of the pitch.
The commentary around Conor Lane after the game was absolutely disgraceful, maybe he didn't have his best game, nobody is perfect, but he has been filleted. I thought Oisin McConville's comments on the Sunday Game were disgraceful and they were cowardly as well because a ref is an easy target, he has no comeback and slating him is playing to the gallery. These modern pundits are all savvy about mental health issues in modern society, no one seems to care about the effect this public execution of Lane could have on the mental health of Lane or his family.
Aiden O'Shea had an absolute nightmare of a game Saturday, he had a much worse game than Lane but I didn't here any pundit nailing him to the cross the way Lane was. How bad of a gaffe would a ref have to make to equate to an inter County player missing a free kick from 14 yards out.
A ref would get a pass ordinarily probably. But given this ref was blind to a lot of the dirt Dublin pulled on the day, he doesn't on this one. He and his linesman had a perfect view of it. And he did stop the game even though you could see the guy was momentarily knocked out and he also did not give so much as a free.
Someone on the Sunday Game (can't remember) said that they were privy to the referees radio in the commentary box and late on the linesmen were pinging him every 2 minutes with calls for cards. So even with current rules what you are saying is doable.
I think the ref just messed up on the Small tackle and didn't realize it was to the head.
Doesn't even need rule changes or anything else it was just a bad piece of refereeing
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