They don’t let the game go like they used

THERE has always been an art to refereeing the big game, which has gone hand in hand with the art of getting your next big game.

It’s an art though that has changed through the years. Back in the day, yellow cards were only for soccer; you could decapitate an opponent and the worst you’d incur was the man in black getting all Cyril Farrell or D’Unbelievables with you — “You can’t be doing that, lads!” — so mindful were they of the fate that befell John Gough after he got all John Wayne by sending off four men in the 1983 All-Ireland.

But what really distinguished the masters from the pretenders was the art of playing for the draw.