Brian Gavin: John McGrath should have seen red at the Gaelic Grounds

I came in for a bit of criticism during the week about Offaly football matters, which I’ll come back to shortly, but I’m never going to shy away from calling it like I see it. At referees seminars, I would have been known for speaking my mind, whether I was right or wrong, and it’s an attitude I’ll be sticking to here, writes Brian Gavin.

Of the three hurling matches I saw at the weekend, the Limerick-Tipperary was the most eventful. John McGrath can count his lucky stars he wasn’t sent off in the first half. The jab of the hurl on Seán Finn was a dangerous one and I would imagine by the amount of time James McGrath took deliberating with his umpires that he was considering showing a red card.

In the end, he issued a yellow to McGrath but it was red or nothing. Finn did give him a tug first but the reaction was pure frustration from McGrath. That he got to play the entire game was a blessing for him.