Brian Gavin: Waterford penalty mistake the only blot on Colm Lyons’ copybook

Tipperary players protest to referee Colm Lyons after he awarded a penalty to Waterford on Saturday. Picture: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Saturday provided another example of how a referee can be riding high for so long in a game only to be brought crashing down to earth by a split-second decision.

Colm Lyons was having a great game, really contributing to a fantastic show of hurling in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and then came that penalty decision. It was a huge mistake, he might have thought there was a hurl put across Austin Gleeson but none of the replays have indicated that.