Trust us when we write this: there is enough reason to believe the war waged against Lee Keegan by Dublin GAA figures since the drawn All-Ireland final is a campaign.

Good morning. Here’s everything you need to know before you start your day.

The GAA’s former referees chief Pat McEnaney insists there is nothing inherently wrong with the black card.

Niall Carew has hit out at Joe Brolly for continuing what he says is a “vendetta” against Kieran McGeeney and dismissed the pundit’s contention that Kildare’s players were too afraid to make mistakes under McGeeney’s stewardship.

Confess it: when Dónal Óg Cusack criticised the decision to award Limerick a goal against Westmeath this summer you couldn’t have agreed more. Neither could we.

IF IT wasn’t so serious the irony would be delicious. Two legal eagles shooting down a ban, which had been upheld by the GAA’s three main disciplinary arms, largely on the basis that an All-Ireland semi-final means more than most games.

September dawns and the GAA’s disciplinary system finds itself occupied in a month in which it is usually dormant.

About 10 minutes into the second half yesterday, an unmistakable salty air wafted into Croke Park. Tyrone couldn’t be collared for it. Not this time.

At the behest of a reader and a Kilkenny friend of ours, we took another look at Barry Kelly’s decision to overturn a Tipperary 65 last Sunday week. 

In February of last year, Kerry were chasing a late equalising point against Dublin in their opening Division 1 game in Croke Park when Aidan O’Mahony fell to the ground in the hope of persuading David Coldrick to award him a free.

Former Kerry and Munster chairman Seán Walsh will this Wednesday begin in earnest his three-year role as chairman of the national referees development body.

Outgoing GAA national referees chairman Pat McEnaney said he learned very little about hurling during his three-year term. 

Speaking to Newstalk last month, resident hurling pundit Daithi Regan made a telling remark about the state of refereeing in hurling.

At last Tuesday’s Hurling 2020 report launch, committee member Frank Lohan was asked if the double yellow card proposal was effectively saying hurling was twice as clean as Gaelic football.

Kilkenny legend Eddie Keher and referees chief Pat McEnaney have taken issue with the Hurling 2020 committee’s proposal to make a second yellow card an automatic substitution offence — but for different reasons.

An automatic substitution for a second yellow card is expected to be among the Hurling 2020 recommendations released later today.

The 2014 season wasn’t without its fair share of disputes and furore. But just where does the likes of Shane Enright’s non-black card, Parade-gate and Stephen O’Keeffe’s safety-defying save from Anthony Nash rank in the GAA’s biggest on-field Championship controversies since 2000?

Pat McEnaney would like to see the use of two referees in hurling experimented with in the National League.

Pat McEnaney says he feels let down by Cork secretary Frank Murphy’s criticism of inter-county football referees.

GAA top brass deny that the new penalty for criticism of match officials stems from Brian Cody’s attack on referee Barry Kelly.

The GAA is expected to at least ask Brian Cody to explain his scathing remarks about Barry Kelly as the referee’s Westmeath County Board intend taking the matter further.

Tipperary football chairman Joe Hannigan last night hailed the new Munster senior football championship as "the most equitable option."

Thankfully, among the gazillions of garlands deservedly being flung at the feet of Kilkenny and Tipperary, there are no coins of sympathy.

The majority of games between Kilkenny and Tipperary over the last five years have provided a flashpoint or more

Jim Gavin said there is no beef between Dublin and Joe McQuillan as the All-Ireland champions reacquaint themselves with the referee for the first time since last September.

Referees chief Pat McEnaney admits inter-county football referees are missing obvious black card offences for deliberate pull-downs.

Ah, August. That time of the year when referees are that bit slower to reach for the whistle and shy away from making the big calls.

GAA president Liam O’Neill insists the chances of powerful hurling freetakers scoring a goal from a placed ball outside the 20-metre line are as good as converting one within it.

Referees will make themselves available to managers and players prior to this weekend’s hurling championship games should they wish to be briefed further on the new rule interpretation for penalties and frees.

Arising from concerns about conversion rates, referees chief Pat McEnaney revealed there will be an analysis of how many goals are scored from penalties and 20-metre frees in the remainder of the hurling championship.

By Peter O'Dwyer

We can’t say we didn’t see it coming.

Referees chief Pat McEnaney insists the Championship football panel have mastered the majority of black card decisions.

Chairman of the National Referee Committee Pat McEnaney has admitted that criticism of the application of the controversial black card rule is justified but has insisted that GAA officials are up to the task of implementing the rule effectively.

Creating an elite semi-professional refereeing core would ignore the bigger problems facing officiating in the GAA, according to Alan Nash, secretary of the Gaelic Match Officials Association (GMOA).

Some might say it was a curse. Before David Coldrick there was Kevin Walsh.

Pat McEnaney believes a repeat of the refereeing standards seen in last year’s championship will be more than satisfactory this summer.

Doing the rounds on the internet at the moment is a hilarious caricature of a bandwagon Dublin supporter standing on Hill 16.

Waterford football manager Niall Carew has vented his frustration with Croke Park after a recent meeting with the chairman of the National Referees’ Committee Pat McEnaney failed to resolve the inconsistencies in officiating that have resulted in a heavy concession of frees during their Division 4 fixtures.

Kilkenny hurling legend Eddie Keher is looking forward to delivering his document on the game to the newly-formed committee headed up by Tipperary’s 2010 All-Ireland winning manager Liam Sheedy.