Harte riled by rules

Mickey Harte has blasted the GAA for creating confusion in the way in which games are being officiated.

The Tyrone manager didn’t criticise referee David Coldrick but condemned the inconsistency in how yesterday’s Ulster championship opener was marshalled compared to matches in the county’s Division 1 and McKenna Cup campaigns earlier this year.

He was at a loss to explain how Down’s Conor Maginn avoided a black card in the first half for Peter Harte’s penalty when Niall Morgan was shown one after tripping Jerome Johnston.

“Again the same consistencies of all these things — I know we had a penalty in a certain game here too and the goalie took the last man down and didn’t get sent off,” he said, referring to the final round tie against Dublin last month.

“We had a penalty in the first half there today where we neither got the advantage nor did the person who took the man down suffer any penalty.

“It’s inconsistencies again that happened and I am not talking about referees. It’s difficult to understand what set of rules was played to today. They weren’t the rules we played the National League, so someone needs to tell us here what’s going on because the rules that were applied today did not remotely resemble the rules we played to in the National League and McKenna Cup.”

Harte argued it wasn’t just before the Tyrone penalty where there was no advantage applied. He suggests teams might have to play the referees as much as the opposition.

“Was there many advantages accrued there today? And was there opportunities to give an advantage?

“I think there were several, so is it in or is it not and tell us one or the other and if it’s in play, fine, and if it’s not there we will have what we had today.

“I wouldn’t complain if it was going to prevail all the while but we go out next week and I don’t know which set of rules we live by. It’s going to take 10 or 15 minutes to adjust to what the rules are on a particular day.”

Harte admitted, as much as Seán Cavanagh’s levelling free saved the day, that the draw felt like a defeat for Tyrone.

“It does feel a bit like that. It feels like a defeat because when we got the second goal it certainly looked like we were capable of winning the game. You could never have anticipated that we would lose sight of the scoreboard as much as we did after that but we did and that’s what happens sometimes when another team gets momentum.”

Harte praised Cavanagh for having the wherewithal to convert the free from distance. “For sure, a very difficult kick to have to take in the circumstances and it’s good to have someone like him around who is prepared to take it on.

“It was very missable and no-one would have blamed him if he had missed it and we are glad he didn’t.”