Walsh: Time for officials to stand up and be counted

Sligo manager Kevin Walsh lashed out at officiating teams and particularly linesmen after Charlie Harrison was sent off in Saturday’s qualifier.

Johnny Doyle confirmed afterwards the wing-back swung and caught him off the ball and, while referee David Coldrick missed the incident, linesman Derek Fahy drew his attention and it resulted in a straight red.

“I’ve rakes of views on red cards and certain stuff that linesmen see right in front of their eyes and don’t deal with,” said Walsh.

“If you are being pulled and dragged all over the place and you happen to lash out and hit the wrong place, then all of a sudden it’s a red card. Fair play. RTÉ will play it back and say the linesmen and the referee were right. But maybe it’s time they stood up and were counted. There is stuff going on that has to be dealt with by the authorities because right now it’s not being dealt with.

“Cynical blocks, pull backs, pulling and tugging six feet from the linesman’s eyes. It’s been going on for a long time. It’s a pity they can’t face up to it and deal with it. You brought it up, and it wasn’t so bad today. but I’ve seen it for so long. You know well it’s going on right, left and centre. Even in the full-forward line, with the ball well away, there are jerseys being pulled. Unless this is stamped out you won’t see good forwards and it’s already in the rules. But, it wouldn’t have made a difference to the result.”

Meanwhile, Walsh wouldn’t be drawn on his future as his latest two-year term is now up although he did describe his side’s performance as “soul destroying”. “It’s back to the thing of the provincial final and a county putting it all into it,” he added.

“Credit Kildare, but I think a lot was down to our performance. I’m sure they won’t be saying they had a savage performance, they are probably none the wiser. Against Cork, a lot will depend on which Kildare turns up but they can’t get carried away with this performance.”