Given their recent history, Mayo v Dublin is always guaranteed to be a spicey affair but few expected a red card inside the first 15 minutes of the their league clash in Elverys MacHale Park.
Unfortunately for Jordan Flynn, that's exactly what happened as he received his marching orders by Barry Cassidy for a high tackle on John Small. Making just his second start for the Mayo seniors in the league, Flynn stretched out his arm as Small handpassed the ball away and caught the Dublin defender high.
🔴 RED CARD ❌
A straight red card for Mayo...
Was it the right decision?#GAA #MatchNightLive pic.twitter.com/EMKa3M9qLU— eir Sport (@eirSport) February 1, 2020
Speaking on eir Sport's commentary, Billy Joe Padden said "It's a high tackle. I'm not sure if it warrants a red. It's high, he holds his arm out and it's late. It's definitely a yellow, I'm not sure if it deserves a red."
At half-time, the analysts were more damning of the decision, with Joe Brolly saying "There's no doubt the referee has overreacted. Barry has overreacted. He's made a mistake on this."
"I wonder has Jordan's reputation preceded him, which would be very unfair. I couldn't see how it could be justified as a red. For me it was a yellow, it was a typical high tackle. It was a hand it wasn't a fist. A ref's got to be certain on a red card like that."
"There's no doubt the referee has overreacted"
"The ref has got to be certain"@JoeBrolly1993 as well as the rest of the panel are baffled by the referee's red card decision tonight ❌#GAA #MatchNightLive pic.twitter.com/5NAALI4pHs— eir Sport (@eirSport) February 1, 2020
The GAA have stated both last year and this year that referees are to clamp down on head-high tackles. Last May, the GAA’s National Referees Development Committee Chairman, Willie Barrett, said “Anything above the shoulders in relation to striking to the head, from the neck up, we’ve instructed our referees clearly, both in hurling and football, to issue a red card for a challenge that’s a deliberate challenge to the head."
The question is: what constitutes a "deliberate" challenge to the head?
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Paul Galvin secured his first win as Wexford manager with his charges defeating Carlow 2-10 to 1-6.
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