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'The Sunday Game' : All-Ireland Camogie Final referee decisions 'balanced out'

'The Sunday Game' : All-Ireland Camogie Final referee decisions 'balanced out'

Irish Daily Mirror18 hours ago
All-Ireland camogie final referee Justin Heffernan came in for some strong criticism from Cork manager Ger Manley after the game.
But RTE's Sunday Game panel felt that the refereeing decisions balanced themselves out by the end of the the Croke Park decider.
Manley was particularly incensed by Hannah Looney's red card, a push in the back of his goalie Amy Lee and a late decision he felt went against Cork in their bid for a three-in-a-row as Galway upset the odds.
Introducing a section on the refereeing decisions in the match, Sunday Game host Jacqui Hurley said:
'In a lot of ways he (the referee) tried to let the game flow and that probably added to it, because there was some decisions that were a little contentious.
'Because of that that maybe it was allowed to fester and maybe it leads to the sending off as well.'
Former Limerick camogie player Aoife Sheehan said: 'I think so and that's probably something when you are on the field and you might feel that you are getting a raw deal.
"And the next thing you might give away a free and someone else does it - and you don't get anything. That can be really difficult.'
On the red card incident, Sheehan continued: 'Hannah Looney got a little dig in the back from Carrie Dolan and makes her feelings known straight away afterwards.
'She gives her I don't know what you would call it, a kind of a punch into the side of the head. I suppose she saw red there for it.
'That was her frustration coming out in that incidence. She gave the referee a decision to make and he made it.'
In the lead up to the red card a Cork player was pushed in the back but no free was given before Looney was dunted in the back.
In the closing stages a number of high tackles by Cork players went unpunished with one on Galway's Aoife Donohue resulting in a Cork free for overcarrying.
Sheehan continued: 'There was funny decisions on both sides. Ger Manley I know was a bit incensed afterwards.
'He was saying it but on the balance I think a lot of them (decisions) just evened out each other.
'That's the way we've been calling for camogie to be refereed for a long time. Look, let it go, let it flow, let the physicality get into it and I think both teams did get into it.'
Waterford player Niamh Rockett was also on the Sunday Game panel. She said: 'I think the refereeing really balanced out at that stage.
'We were talking at half time and we were saying will the sideline officials have a word with the referee over some of the more borderline decisions.
'To be fair to the referee, I think he balanced it out on both sides. He let it play when it needed to be played. No-one wants to be looking at a game that's going into a free taking competition.
'A spread of scorers for Cork and a spread of scorers for Galway. It wasn't just relying on Amy O'Connor and Saoirse McCarthy from Cork and Carrie Dolan to shoot the lights out.
'There were great scores from play. There were penalties. It had all the drama with it and I suppose the referee, they can only see the game and make a decision in a split second.
'Although Ger Manley might feel aggrieved by it I do feel it balanced out in the very end of it.'
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