Ref Deegan sees ‘killer’ start for black card

Top football referee Maurice Deegan believes the new black card will be a big success — but predicts a ‘killer’ first few weeks for under-fire officials.

The Laois man, who took charge of last September’s All-Ireland final between Donegal and Mayo, agreed cynical play has become a big concern in the game. He said that, for him, the amount of deliberate body colliding or ‘third man tackling’ occurring is particularly frustrating. He also claimed that, until now, a mere yellow card sanction for a player deliberately pulling down an opponent to deny a goalscoring opportunity wasn’t severe enough.

However, he warned fellow officials that they are going to be under fire from all elements of the game, and particularly from inter-county managers, when the new rules are first implemented.