Whatever way you look at it, John O’Dwyer can consider himself a lucky man.
Regardless of whether he meant to hit Diarmuid Byrnes or not, regardless of whether he thought the ball was there, his pull was wild and its impact was out of his line of vision.
Referees have given red cards for similar incidents with barely an eyelid batted.
Colm Parkinson would have sent the Killenuale club man for an early shower.
“I thought number one, he got him in the face and he was a mile away from the ball,” said Parkinson on Monday’s GAA Hour Hurling Show.
Many would agree, but both Brian Carroll and JJ Delaney had very different takes on the 38th minute incident from Sunday’s Munster final.
With Ronan Maher setting Bubbles up for a fall with a proverbial hospital pass, Diarmuid Byrnes sniffed the opportunity. The Patrickswell man stood tall and let fly, driving the sliotar down the line with a swing of the hurl.
Bubbles was in the line of fire though. Byrnes follow through was coming and so, a second or two late, the Tipperary forward swings his hurl to protect himself.
He does that, but connects smack bang on the Limerick man’s faceguard, leaving him panned out.
Carroll and Delaney felt the yellow card issued by referee Paud O’Dwyer.
“Ah now come on now Wooly, no way, Jesus Christ you couldn’t give a red for that. Like a ball popped up down the line, he had to pull, like it was the perfect ball for Diarmuid Byrnes…
“But the ball, he’s a left handed hurler like JJ so it was lovely on his right hand side so he was going to let fly which he did and drove the ball thirty, forty meters down the field. So Bubbles knew he was going to get a smack of the hurl as well as probably not get to the ball in time so he had to pull. Like it was as much protecting himself as having to pull so no way that would be a red card. Jesus like what could Bubbles do, pull out of that altogether, sure that would be worse he’d be taken off straight after…”
JJ gave the Tipp man the benefit of the doubt.
"Ah now come on now Wooly, no way! Jesus Christ, you couldn't give a red for that…"
Hurling people, @jjdel82 and @BrianCarroll13, round on @Woolberto for suggesting Bubbles should have been red-carded 🤔
Full show: https://t.co/zESD0FDLVi
w/ @paddypower pic.twitter.com/6gSECXc1Gp
— The GAA Hour (@TheGAAHour) July 1, 2019
“I don’t know if it would have been a red card. I don’t know, I don’t know. I wouldn’t have been surprised of he got one but it would have been very, very harsh if he got it. He pulled, he was out of control but I don’t think he meant to hit him. I genuinely thought he went to go get the ball to be honest with you but look it was kind of mistimed more than malicious to be honest…”
Wooly trusted the experts.
“Right, Ok listen, I’ll take your words for it lads, I never pulled a Hurley in my life so I don’t know what I’m talking about…”
Watch Monday’s GAA Hour Hurling Show live here.
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