Brian Gavin: The GAA should be demanding immediate answers over HawkEye fiasco

TECH-ISSUES: Shane Walsh of Galway kicks a free, in the 38th minute, that was initially allowed, then disallowed and was again awarded following a review of HawkEye at half time. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

The saying among umpires has been “call HawkEye before it calls you”. Basically, if you’re in doubt make the TV signal rather than your referee having to stop play and call it up on the screen.

After what happened on Saturday, the comfort in being able to call on the score technology is gone. Its determination to signal Shane Walsh’s 45 as a wide was shambolic and undermined Brendan Cawley’s umpires at that Hill 16 end.

There was a hint earlier on in the game that all wasn’t right when what seemed to be a point for Conor Glass at the other end was deemed wide by HawkEye. Then the Walsh incident came, a kick that was clearly two feet inside the right-hand post as the Galway forward looked at it.

What struck me at the time was as the umpires crossed their flags to cancel out the point which they had awarded, the pair of them were in deep conversation and you could see they weren’t happy.

It’s just as well it happened before half-time and therefore the GAA were in a position to do something about it. If it was close to the end of the game and the margin was tight, who knows what might have happened in the stadium or in the days that followed.

We’re so often told HawkEye isn’t extended to venues outside Croke Park and Semple Stadium because of the expense. But for all the money that has been spent on the system, incidents like Saturday, like the Leinster final when it also had to be stood down and the delays experienced in informing officials what is and isn’t a score simply isn’t good enough. The GAA should be demanding answers quickly if it is to be trusted for the All-Ireland hurling final.

Onto football matters and Paddy Neilan’s officiating yesterday contributed to what was a terrific game of football between Dublin and Kerry. The yellow cards he handed out to the likes of David Clifford for the high challenge on Johnny Cooper and those to Eoin Murchan and Paul Geaney were correct calls.

If there was one tough decision, it was on John Small for the black card. Yes, he pulled back Paul Geaney who then went to ground but it didn’t seem as if his foul on him off the ball sent him to the floor. That grey area in the black card definition needs to be cleared up.

Some of the commentary on TV suggested Seán O’Shea should have been in hot water for following through on Evan Comerford after his penalty was saved. I couldn’t have disagreed more. O’Shea had to go and try to get to the rebound and the ball was there for him.

Comerford did incredibly well to waste time after the penalty was awarded. He went down like a sniper shot him and wasted about three minutes as Small was in the sin bin. Comerford did get a couple of hefty challenges for his trouble but teams are so wise to the black card loophole and using up minutes. When a serious injury takes place, the sin bin clock simply has to stop.

Paddy made a great spot on Stephen O’Brien for picking the ball off the ground in the opening minute of the second half just as a Kerry goal chance looked on. He was also right to book Diarmuid O’Connor for persistent fouling although Adrian Spillane’s yellow when he charged was harsh. All the same, Paddy was a brave appointment for the GAA and he was cool on the day.

On Saturday, Brendan again reffed well and was consistent with his previous outings. Anyone who carried the ball into contact in the first half was punished. Benny Heron was unfortunate not to earn a free for an accidental trip. Damien Comer was booked for stopping a kick-out and Brendan also made a good shout penalising Gareth McKinless for a dive.

In the Tailteann Cup final, Thomas Galligan’s red card was merited because he was reckless and went into the tackle with the elbow. For Westmeath’s first goal, when a player in possession goes to ground, he is permitted to play it away and that’s exactly what Ronan O’Toole did and the score deservedly stood.

Barry Cassidy did miss a couple of obvious fouls such as a blatant push on O’Toole but handled it well in the absence of Maurice Deegan who had to pull out with sickness in what would have been his last senior inter-county game in Croke Park.

As for this Sunday’s hurling finale, it wasn’t a surprise Colm Lyons got the nod when the vibes from Croke Park earlier in the year were that he was the frontrunner. I hope Colm officiates with the same confidence he has two or three years ago when he was at the top of his game. He’s had a couple of tough outings in this championship and I wish him the best of luck.

It’s strange, though, that John Keenan, who took charge of the best game this year in the Munster final, is not involved in any capacity this weekend.

He’s been hard done by.