Near the end of an enthralling All Ireland Football Final, which saw Kerry run out 0-20 to 0-16 winners, there was a controversial call from referee Sean Hurson.
Hurson penalised Galway's John Daly, who after coming away with the ball was adjudged to have grabbed the arm of Killian Spillane.
A free-in was awarded and David Clifford curled the ball over from an acute angle to give Kerry a one point lead at 0-17 to 0-16.
After the game, the Sky Sports panel of Jim McGuinness, Peter Canavan, and Kieran Donaghy, disagreed with each other on the correctness of the call, with McGuinness claiming that it should have been a free out.
Turning Point In All Ireland Football Final?
McGuinness' argument was that Daly took the space first and was doing what most defenders are taught in that position and driving forward, and that it was Spillane who initiated the contact and should have been penalised.
I think there's a couple of things for me. First of all would be the fact that in the context of the game they had won the turnover," argued McGuinness. "And whenever he won that ball his first instinct was to get out with the ball, so his forward motion was there, and the second thing was he had a hand on him first, so he had his hand on him first and there's a forward motion to get out with the ball.
"And if I'm coaching U12s that's first thing I'm going to say to them. As soon as you feel contact try and get out with the ball and the referee will give you a free all day long. And the fact that the arm stayed in and he did hold his arm then secondly.
"So for me I can see why the ref gave it in terms of holding the defender but for me it was a free out because of two things; the body position and him looking to go out the park even though he slipped in the first instance and he was trying to get out the field and his hand was there first.
24 July 2022; David Clifford of Kerry reacts as referee Seán Hurson shows him a yellow card during the GAA Football All Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Kerry and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Peter Canavan agreed with referee Hurson saying that, "but if you tell a defender to burst out you also tell a forward to make contact and I thought he had his hands out and I thought the referee got it right, that he did try and buy the free. It's not a head high tackle."
Kieran Donaghy echoed the views of Canavan and admitted that "technically it's the right call" from the referee.
With Kerry running out four point winners, it is debatable whether the call made a difference to the outcome of the All Ireland Final, however, at such a late stage in the game it could be argued that it swung the momentum in Kerry's favour at a crucial stage.
SEE ALSO: 'It's Going To Be Remembered As The Walsh And Clifford Final' Say GAA Legends
