Brian Gavin: Quaid penalty call will surely force rule change now

If referee Thomas Walsh is truthful, there probably wasn’t any stage in this game where he felt he had control

TIME TO CHANGE RULE: Clare's Peter Duggan is fouled by Limerick goalkeeper Nickie Quaid, before a penalty was awarded. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.

Everybody seemed to feel the weight of Sunday's heavy All-Ireland semi-final. The Clare players, the Limerick players, referee Thomas Walsh.

If the Waterford official is truthful, there probably wasn’t any stage in this game where he felt he had control or the balance right and until such time as he negotiates these tricky encounters he is not going to get the big appointment.

Technically, the decision not to black card Nickie Quaid for his penalty-conceding foul on Peter Duggan was correct. It didn’t feel like it, though. It’s that type of trip, that connection with Duggan’s face, that the black card was introduced in the first place.

Because Duggan wasn’t in possession of the ball, Quaid avoided the sin bin but the foul ticked the other boxes. It was just about in the area— – it would have been a free-in otherwise, it was one of the listed fouls and it denied a goalscoring opportunity.

It was a decision that will surely convince the GAA, likely John Meyler’s new hurling review group, to alter the rule because, honestly, it's been a bone of contention throughout the season. It’s been a grey area for months and it has to be sorted.

It just doesn’t feel like it’s fit for purpose at the moment and clarity has to be brought to the situation. The number of fouls should be expanded and it should be a team-scoring opportunity as it is in Gaelic football, not a chance for the player in possession.

And this goes beyond one rule change too. When the referee has blown his whistle, there should be an opportunity for the HawkEye official to review the tape. I’m not talking VAR, I’m talking about a 30 or 40-second replay for a key decision. It sure would have come in handy in the Kerry-Tyrone game the week before when a 45 was incorrectly given to Kerry.

It was a semi-final of fine margins and while Clare could feel aggrieved about it, Conor Cleary was lucky to stay on the field. He was given a couple of warnings before he was booked and was warned again after he was shown a yellow card and had to substituted. Gearóid Hegarty was doing too much damage against him.

Tony Kelly was issued a yellow card in the first half and he was unfortunate to do so as Hegarty seemed to be holding him. Walsh definitely didn’t see the incident and relied on his linesman Chris Mooney.

Referee Thomas Walsh, centre, speaking with his line umpires Colm Lyons, left, and Chris Mooney before showing the yellow card to Limerick goalkeeper Nickie Quaid. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.

There were obvious yellow cards shown to the likes of Ryan Taylor and Hegarty for slapping Diarmuid Stritch but there were blatant frees that weren’t awarded. For example, Limerick had a genuine call for a free on Dan Morrissey turned down before a Peter Duggan score in the first half.

ON SATURDAY, I was a little surprised to see Johnny Murphy appointed to the Galway-Cork game with his native Limerick still in the championship. But, as I’ve written before, no referee goes to make mistakes and I had a feeling Johnny was going to let this game flow as it could be his last of the championship.

I don’t think he would mind me saying we see two versions of him — the overzealous Johnny Murphy and the right, good Johnny Murphy, which we have seen a few times and did again on Saturday.

Murphy was correct with all the key decisions including the two yellow cards that led to Darragh Fitzgibbon’s sending off. His first yellow card was for a high tackle and you could have sympathy for the Cork captain with the second as he was trying to hook Ronan Glennon but connected with his helmet.

All these tackles in recent years have been bookings and Murphy applied it correctly. While it might look harsh, they are the rules and he had to be sent off.

There was some talk of Seán O’Donoghue picking up a red card for the high foul on Jason Rabbitte. RTÉ showed a photograph of their analysts and others reacting with shock to the nature of it in front of the Nally Stand.

O’Donoghue’s hurl came off the shoulder of Rabbitte and moved up around the Galway forward’s head, which was a careless foul and the yellow card was merited.

Damien Cahalane had also picked up a booking for persistent fouling on Rabbitte. Murphy is a referee who likes to look for holding and Cork were left with no choice but to take off one of their inside backs who were on yellow cards.

Daithí Burke was caught early for holding Brian Hayes and was moved before he was handed a booking. Cillian Trayers held Hayes later in the game and Cork were screaming for a black card and penalty, but it was only holding and deserved nothing more than a yellow.

Murphy showed a lot of confidence and if Clare had won the second semi-final he would have been in pole position to officiate his second All-Ireland final ahead of James Owens. But the Wexford man, in his final year, is the leading man ahead of Seán Stack.