Black card calls ‘nearly impossible’, says Eddie Kinsella

Eddie Kinsella says Gaelic football’s national referees have a handle on the black card but admits there are still issues with identifying deliberate pull-downs.

The respected Laois match official this week confirmed he is retiring from the inter-county game, having taken charge of the Kerry-Donegal 2014 All-Ireland final.

Admitting he is not “a massive fan of the black card”, Kinsella jokes the best way to help referees in administering it is “to probably get rid of it!”, although he acknowledges it has been a success for the most part. “We have been fairly good on the black card bar the deliberate pull-down. In referees’ defence, if you’re 10 or 15 yards away running after the play, it’s difficult to see if it’s deliberate and whether or not it’s a black card.