Cunningham sympathy for whistleblowers

Ger Cunningham was wearing two hats this week, Bord Gáis Energy representative at Wednesday’s Munster U21 hurling final won in such convincing style by Clare and selector on Jimmy Barry-Murphy’s Cork management team that faces Dublin in tomorrow’s All-Ireland SHC semi-final.

One job he will never do, however, is referee. In each of their last two games Cork have been embroiled in officiating controversy. In the Munster final, there was the straight red issued to Cork’s free-taker and most potent attacker, Patrick Horgan, a game they went on to lose. Then there was their All-Ireland quarter-final win against Kilkenny, two yellow cards for their king and main play-maker Henry Shefflin.

Despite the fact that Cork won a subsequent appeal against the Horgan sending-off, Cunningham has huge sympathy for the men in the middle.