Brian Gavin: Refs might say sin bin decision was right, but hurling people know it's wrong
Cathal Malone, Conor Cleary and John Conlon of Clare look on as referee James Owens awards a penalty to Tipperary during the controversial Munster SHC clash. Picture: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
Eight days on from the game the fallout from Aidan McCarthy’s sin-binning in Limerick continues. I have never seen so much negative feedback about a decision as there was for James Owens’s call to punish the Clare player like he did, yet now we hear that referees believe it was the right call.
Out of the four sin bin incidents prior to this past weekend, only Fergal Horgan’s punishment of Eoin Murphy in the Leinster SHC semi-final was right in my view, in how the rule was intended and how it is written. But referees’ interpretations of it are now so expansive it has become ridiculous.
