Brian Gavin: What exactly is a clear goalscoring opportunity?

It will be interesting to see if there is any feedback from the referees development committee about Colm’s decision because if this is going to be an example of what to do in such a situation then we’re going to run into huge problems

Clare's Aron Shanagher heads goalwards before winning a penalty after being fouled by Shane Fives of Waterford at Semple Stadium. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile

With so many one-sided games this opening weekend, it was a relatively stress-free couple of days for referees although it didn’t pass off without some talking points.

Chief among them was the sin bin/penalty awarded in the first half in Thurles when Shane Fives fouled Aron Shanagher. Watching it in real time, there was no doubt that what Fives did was a bookable offence but was it a clear goalscoring opportunity? With Waterford defenders standing between Shanagher and the goal, I don’t think it was and that is the difficulty referees are going to run into when making these calls over the next eight weeks or so.