Cork, Limerick Munster Final ref Thomas 'Tyler' Walsh, 'a hard job, well done.'

Irish Daily Mirror

a day ago

The statistic painted a picture that has drawn a lot of commentary since.
In last Saturday evening's Munster Hurling Final, referee Thomas Walsh awarded six first half frees.
Two of them were for throw balls so four were for actual tackles in a game where the challenges were flying in.
Many observers praised Walsh's performance, while the perception with others was that he 'let too much go,' but was that the reality?
As part of the RTE panel, Donal Og Cusack commented: 'We've spoken about the referee a lot in the last couple of weeks, but to be fair, it's like trying to control a boat on the high seas in the dark.
'Who could actually referee that? The way the rules are so not defined. The whole tackle thing.
'Most of the tackles we are seeing here are not in the rulebook at all. I think it would be unfair to go after him (the referee). He has done his best like everybody else is doing their best.'
A review of the video of the game indicates a level of consistency from the Waterford official that neither side can really complain about as he enhanced the spectacle, rather than taking away from it.
Walsh's pragmatism was more than likely founded on the realisation that if he blew for every arm across a player or slight drag back it would have been a long evening for himself and everyone else on what is one of the showpiece days in the GAA calendar.
Obvious pushes in the back were generally given as frees. Any contact with the helmet was a free. A bit of pulling and dragging was allowed, but if you left the arm in too long it was blown up.
Players and everyone else knew exactly where they stood. No-one was getting soft frees for anything.
Rather than blow for marginal frees, the style Walsh appeared to use was to allow the play to develop.
Generally, the man fouled was able to get out with the ball, which added to the flow of the game.
The only quibble with this style of refereeing is that playing an advantage and going back for a free may often have been a bigger reward, so it did pay to foul at times, but Walsh was entirely consistent with both sides.
An example of this attempt to allow the play to develop came in the 57th minute when Cian Lynch was clearly shouldered in the back by Robert Downey and then fouled by Sean O'Donohgue before being caught high by Tim O'Mahony.
This was the one incident that was certainly allowed to 'flow' for too long with Lynch taking an unnecessary battering.
The only obvious free Walsh let go was in the 29th minute where Mike Casey, knowing it was two on two inside, played Patrick Horgan instead of the ball. Horgan grabbed his man then, making it awkward for the official, who clearly decided two of them were at it.
On 23.40, Cork fans felt that Brian Hayes was fouled with a goal on, but it wasn't clear on replays that it was a free and in the context of how the game was being refereed it looked like the right call.
Those subtle body checks defenders use when they're in trouble under a high ball or in a one versus one or two versus two, were generally allowed.
One of those came in the 46th minute from Sean Finn, who stepped across his man. The free wasn't given and Limerick fired a goal at the other end. Cork could feel aggrieved at that.
But then Limerick might quibble with the throw ball given against David Reidy in the fourth minute with Cian Lynch running in on goal, and a possible throw not given against Brian Hayes for Shane Barrett's goal.
It was that kind of game though. So many decision to make and so many calls were marginal.
Early in the second half, RTE co-commentator Brendan Cummins laid it out there: 'Every tackle down there is going to be absolutely vicious now and in fairness to the referee he's going to get some right and some wrong for both teams.'
That was the type of environment Thomas 'Tyler' Walsh found himself operating in.
David Reidy's yellow card for a tackle on Cork goalie Patrick Collins in the 42nd minute was harsh, but this is nitpicking.
Overall, the second half had 12 frees, double the amount of the first half.
It was a cauldron like atmosphere from the off, a 44,000 sellout on a Saturday evening, with every tackle greeted by a roar for a free from the crowd.
The backdrop of Cork's 16 point hammering by Limerick at the same venue three weeks earlier hung heavy in the air.
Then there was the tension with a Munster Championship on the line and the home side going for an historic seven-in-a-row, while Cork were looking for a first provincial title since 2018 to frank their recent progress and go alongside a first league crown since 1998.
Not once did a composed and in control Walsh look like he was bowing to the pressure from the crowd though, which often appears to happen with referees in big games.
In the RTE studio Liam Sheedy pointed out twice that he felt it was a very sporting contest, and on review it was hard to disagree.
While there was plenty of aggression and hitting, there were very few, if any, head high hits, certainly not with shoulders, indicating that the GAA clampdown during the League appears to have struck a chord, and both sides were wary of red cards.
There were a couple of high tackles with hurls, with Mike Casey booked for one and Brian Hayes getting away with another.
The flare-up at half-time was always going to make Walsh's job more difficult, with both management teams getting involved.
A renewed level of aggression in the minutes after half-time is nothing new in the GAA and something Walsh will certainly have spoken about at half-time with his team of officials.
He reined it in straight away, brandishing four yellow cards in the opening nine minutes of the second half, and six in total, one to a water carrier.
Another was for Sean O'Donoghue tossing Aaron Gillane's hurl away.
At the first hint of trouble off the ball, it was a double yellow for Cormac O'Brien and Gearoid Hegarty. That came on 38 minutes. Walsh handled this tricky spell expertly, taking the sting out of it.
A perfect example of more common sense refereeing came at both throw-ins, with Tim O'Mahony and William O'Donoghue tangling.
Walsh just threw the ball in and got on with it, rather than stopping and dressing them down.
No doubt he was acutely aware that the more stoppages - including frees - the more chance of off the ball incidents breaking out. Having the ball in play tends to focus minds.
Cusack's point about the tackle in hurling is one for the off season.
But Walsh made the best of what he had in the prevailing culture, in what was an extremely tough environment to be put in charge of. Not many would be able for it. It was a hard job well done.