There will be a familiar man in the middle for the meeting of Dublin and Kerry in this year's All-Ireland football final, as David Gough has been selected to referee the decider.
The Meath native will take charge of an All-Ireland senior final for the second time in his career - but fans of the two counties are divided on the appointment.
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Dublin v Kerry: David Gough named referee for football final
When it comes to the best referees in the country, it's hard to argue that anyone other than David Gough fits the bill, and he has been rewarded with the duty of overseeing the All-Ireland final between Dublin and Kerry on July 30.
Gough has already refereed both Dublin and Kerry in the championship this summer, having taken charge of the Dubs' quarter-final against Mayo, and the Kingdom's round-robin clash with Cork.
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Perhaps more relevant to the meeting on July 30, however, is that Gough was the man in the middle for the drawn first game when these two counties last met in an All-Ireland final, in 2019.
Dublin played a huge portion of that game with 14 men, after a first-half sending off for Johnny Cooper when the Na Fianna man earned himself two red cards from the referee.
1 September 2019; Referee David Gough shows a second yellow card to Jonny Cooper of Dublin, before showing him the red card, during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
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Despite his renown in the football world, the appointment of 40-year-old Gough has not proved universally popular among fans of both Dublin and Kerry.
Fans of the Kingdom have argued that Gough should not be allowed to referee Dublin games, on account of the fact that the referee lives and works in the capital.
How does Gough get the football final, he's one of the worst referees I've seen. Whistle happy, makes a slow game even slower. And he's more or less a Dub! https://t.co/yZL6548mHB
— Peter Lambe (@PeterLambe15) July 20, 2023
That's great. At least it's not someone living and working in Dublin. 👀
— The Brand Geeks 🤓 (@thebrandgeeks) July 20, 2023
Ah no, not Dublin Dave..!!
— Seamieboy (@Seamieboy2) July 20, 2023
Ex-Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice was among those who criticised the call to hand Gough the 2019 final, calling it an "injustice." At the time, Gough responded by pointing out that he and Cooper had the same employer, but that had not led to bias in his decision to send the Dublin defender off:
When I had to issue a second yellow card to Jonny, what people don't realise is that he and I work in the same university. I work in Drumcondra, he works in Glasnevin (as a recruitment officer). In three years I think we have seen each other twice, we have probably passed each other those two times and said hello, but we have never had a conversation as such.
Dublin fans have pointed to that red card for Cooper as a counterargument to the accusation of pro-Dublin bias from Gough, while arguing that his origin in rival county Meath is a reason he could be seen to be biased against the county.
Counting the seconds before the Kerry lads start going bananas about the fact he works in Dublin (as they did in 2019)
You had an entire half with an extra man lads.
The ref was not the issue back then & he won't be Sunday week. #Yerra https://t.co/zorEPhJ15x— Darren Chambers (@dmcambrois) July 20, 2023
A Meath refereeing a final with Dublin in it, make it make sense 🤦♂️ @MeathGAA @DubGAAOfficial @officialgaa https://t.co/NfTxbEEOsT
— Bertie 🇮🇪 (@aaherne98) July 20, 2023
Might be a Meath man but we've gotta face it, he's easily the best & most consistent referee in the country https://t.co/n3SiqeC9WE
— Ciarán from Cabra (@CiaranFromCabra) July 20, 2023
It's hard to see any merit in either argument, given David Gough's consistent placement as one of the finest referees in the game for the past few years. There are, of course, reasonable fans who have disagreed with the outcry over Gough's appointment.
90% of the comments coming in about David Gough being appointed for the final are unreadable.🙈 @kerrytodayrk
— Jerry O'Sullivan (@jerosullivanRK) July 21, 2023
It will be intriguing to see the reaction should any controversy arise on July 30.
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