Barr: Refs making football for ‘pansies’

FORMER Dublin defender Keith Barr has raised serious concerns about the level of manliness being permitted in Gaelic football after Sunday’s Allianz Division 1 and 2 finals.

The 1995 All-Ireland winner fears the game is becoming too sanitised after witnessing several shoulder tackles he believed were legitimate being punished by referees.

“I hope we’re not turning our game into a game for pansies,” said Barr. “There were a lot of fantastic shouldering in both games on Sunday. They were legally and properly executed and the referees blew up on them.

“The best thing about this league campaign and the finals on Sunday is that it’s going to add to the hype of the championship but it wasn’t helped but the fussiness of the referees.

“The pair, overall, had good games and we all agree on that but there were some lovely shoulders and they gave frees. They’re taking the physicality of the game.”

Barr compared Dublin’s defeat on Sunday to Rory McIlroy’s collapse in the recent US Masters. However, he believes Pat Gilroy’s men have the ability to bounce back from the setback.

“Rory McIlroy led the competition for three days and into the back nine of the final round. Dublin won all but one game (drawing with Galway) in the league and Cork only went back in front in the last three minutes of the game.

“If I was Pat Gilroy I’d be dwelling on the positives. There are a lot of players to come back into the squad. He’s learned a lot about his team now, and going into the championship it’s no disgrace being beaten by Cork.

“But anyone who says Dublin are bottlers doesn’t know what they are talking about. They’re a developing team and they have to learn.

“The only team to have beaten Cork in the championship in the last couple of years is Kerry. The only team that has beaten Dublin in the last nine months is Cork. That’s not a bad thing.”

Barr also took aim at last year’s All Stars committee for not selecting a single Cork forward in the team last October. He believes the performances of Patrick Kelly, Ciarán Sheehan and Donncha O’Connor on Sunday showed up just how wrong the selectors were in ignoring the Rebel attack in 2010.

“I hope the people on the All Stars committee who didn’t give Cork an award in the forward line are eating their words after what happened on Sunday,” said Barr who was a selector on the GPA’s football awards panel.

“It’s unbelievable the All-Ireland winners didn’t get an All Star in the forward line is beyond me.

“How did they come to that? They’re league-All-Ireland-league champions, they’ll probably win the Munster title in the few months and those people are being given the answer now.”