Dublin further staked their claim as being one of the finest sides in the history of the game by twice staging comebacks against a Kerry side who played superbly well in today's All-Ireland semi-finals. The Dubs were probably deserving winners, but the end of the game was steeped in controversy.
With Dublin leading by a point in injury time, Peter Crowley was unceremoniously dumped on his arse by Kevin McManamon with a fairly robust shoulder.
RTE didn't show a replay on the live broadcast, so we had to wait until the Sunday Game evening edition to catch the incident from a couple of alternate angles. In real time, it looked as if McManamon had caught Crowley squarely on the shoulder. The replay below, however, shows that he nailed him in the chest, and should have been a free to Kerry.
It should also be pointed out, however, that Gough allowed Kerry away with a similar incident a few minutes previous. All can be seen in The Sunday Game package below:
'David Gough is probably the best referee in the country' - The panel discuss some of the contentious calls https://t.co/pLaTRjdwdz
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) August 28, 2016
In fairness to Gough, he contributed to the best spectacle of the year, and in the McManamon incident, he may have been unsighted by Philly McMahon in front of him.
While it appears he may have got this decision wrong, he had a pretty unenviable task to try and keep pace with this ferocious encounter. Regardless of the error at the end, he deserved more than to be pelted with bottles and objects after the game.
