Card loophole exposed

Eamonn Fitzmaurice has warned more coaches will encourage players to fall to ground to earn opponents black cards.

The Kerry manager saw his county’s National League total of black cards jump from one to three yesterday after Shane Enright (trip) and Mark Griffin (pull down) were shown to the line.

Griffin wasn’t replaced as Kerry had made their six substitutes and there would appear to be grounds for an appeal against the decision as Griffin didn’t pull Alan Freeman to the ground.

In the first half, Daithi Casey had been cynically held back by Andy Moran but the Mayo captain was ticked for the indiscretion.

Fitzmaurice believes there’s a flaw in the definition of the new disciplinary stream, which managers will exploit.

“It’s about working the rule. At the end there, Mark Griffin’s one, the Mayo player (Freeman) went to ground. Daithi Casey didn’t go to ground in the first half so it’s one of the loopholes in it.

“If Daithi had gone to ground at the time when Andy Moran pulled him back, Andy Moran would have probably got a black card, but within the rules it wasn’t a black card.

“I think as the Championship goes on and more coaches get their heads around it you’ll see more players go to ground when they are fouled.”

Fitzmaurice also questioned the 60th minute awarding of a Mayo free for Peter Crowley handling on the ground when it appeared he had been fouled previously.

“Peter looked like he shipped a heavy tackle, he might have got a free out that time.”

He insisted Kerry, as much as they find themselves in a spot of bother, aren’t overly concerned as they face Tyrone at home on Sunday.

“If you win, you get momentum and the semi-finals are a live option. Semi-finals are a bit far from our minds at the moment. It’s just about trying to get a win.

“Tyrone are going very well and they’re going to be a hard nut to crack in Killarney next week. But we’ll regroup, reorganise, assess the game and try to improve next week.”

Fitzmaurice said Paul Geaney, named in the Kerry team, didn’t travel for personal reasons. Darran O’Sullivan could start next week. Bryan Sheehan and Kieran O’Leary could be on the bench.