Eamonn Fitzmaurice and Colm O'Rourke both commended David Gough for how he handled a melee at the end of Armagh and Tyrone's Allianz Football League meeting on Sunday.
Gough sent off five players, four from Tyrone and one from Armagh, following the incident.
"David Gough and his team of officials deserve a lot of credit," former Kerry manager Fitzmaurice told RTÉ's League Sunday.
O'Rourke said that the referee could have sent off even more players for being involved in the incident.
"I don't recall any game I've ever seen where five red cards were given out at the one time," said the Meath All-Ireland winner.
"It's probably what a lot of people are staying up tonight to see: Was there anything more to it than meets the eye here?
"There is a rule in the book: Contributing to a melee. As far as I'm concerned, the referee was perfectly entitled to send off those. He could have sent off more. I know that the Tyrone crowd will be sore, 'Why didn't he put off as many Armagh players as he put off from our side?'
6 February 2022; Referee David Gough orders off Tyrone players, from left, Kieran McGeary, Peter Harte, Michael McKernan and Padraig Hampsey of Tyrone after showing them all a red card during the Allianz Football League Division 1 match against Armagh at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
"I don't know what players were doing in there. Nobody is claiming that they hit anyone, but they are still involved in a melee. For me, the melee is the most unsightly thing that's part of our game at the moment - pulling, dragging, gouging, scraping, elbowing, the odd fist here and there, throwing players on the ground; it's unsightly behaviour.
"You can see that David Gough has a perfect view of it. He stands back, and seems to know exactly what is happening. He went to his linesman, he went to his umpires. He identified four players. He could have identified far more.
"If every other referee took a lead from what David Gough did in the game, then we would not have these sort of incidents happening. If referees took a firm hold of this, and sent off players, it would stop very quickly.
"We want the game [to be] physical, but that's not physicality, that sort of pulling and dragging."
O'Rourke and Fitzmaurice on Armagh vs Tyrone melee
"He could have even sent off more"
Colm O'Rourke and Éamonn Fitzmaurice react to the five red cards - four of those shown to Tyrone players - that were meted out after the melee between Tyrone and Armagh: https://t.co/aHmcyk4jys #rtegaa #AllianzLeagueSunday pic.twitter.com/cFXvXauCMT
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) February 6, 2022
Featured image: 6 February 2022; Players from both sides tussle resulting in five red cards issued by referee David Gough during the Allianz Football League Division 1 match between Armagh and Tyrone at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
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