Donal Óg Cusack had only a scrap of sympathy for Gearoid Hegarty after the Limerick forward was sent off late in the second half of his side's draw with Clare on Sunday.
Hegarty was shown two yellow cards by referee Colm Lyons, the first as he tried to take a sideline ball with David McInerney in the way, and the second for swinging his hurley towards Aaron Fitzgerald. The Clare player hit the ground in pain.
Cusack said the 2020 Hurler of the Year - who was sent off against Galway in the National League - was "asking for trouble" with his actions.
"The Clare player makes a huge deal of it," Cusack said on The Sunday Game about the second yellow card.
"He does swing. This is my point about him all the time: There's no need for it. By swinging back with the hurley there, you're asking for trouble. He's drawing that hassle on himself.
"He's one of the greatest players I've ever seen in terms of his abilities. He makes the impossible look so simple. He is asking for it by getting involved, and flicking back like that."
Gearóid Hegarty receives a second yellow card for following through with his hurl.
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Anthony Daly felt neither yellow card should have been shown to Hegarty.
"The free was given against him. Why leave the hurley in at all?" said Daly.
"There was no way the first one was a yellow card. He should not be put off the field for those two things. He doesn't deserve that. He's a good guy.
"That first one, all he wanted to do was take a quick sideline ball. Davy Mac made a nuisance of himself, and stayed there in front of him. If he got a belt from the pull on the ground, he was entitled to get it from where he was standing."
READ HERE: How Return To Junior Hurling Brought Gearóid Hegarty 'Back Down To Earth'
15 May 2022; Aaron Fitzgerald of Clare falls after a clash with Gearóid Hegarty of Limerick during the Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship Round 4 match between Clare and Limerick at Cusack Park in Ennis, Clare. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
Former Galway manager Micheál Donoghue said it was a fair question to ask that if it had been another player involved, would they have been given those two yellow cards?
"I think that's a fair point," said Donoghue.
"The fact that it is Gearóid Hegarty, he is nearly like a villain in a pantomime at this stage. Everyone is just watching every action that he has. Yes, I agree that he's coming in and leaving the hurl. The first one most certainly wasn't a yellow card."
See Also: John Kiely Furious Over 'Two Pundits Talking Nonsense' About Limerick
