This is more like it.
We whinge too much about referees. We cry on about officials costing teams and we moan about stupid decisions and baffling, controversial calls and all the rest.
Most of the time, it’s warranted. But, most of the time, we don’t credit them for good work either.
Umpires get a lot of flack too.
They get abuse.
They get scrutiny.
They get serious pressure put on them.
It’s frustrating sometimes because they stay out of things too often and just reside in the flag or hand-waving camp. And, too often, they don’t even get that right.
But there are plenty of good umpires too and, in Derry on Sunday, one of them stepped up to the mark in injury time.
A last-gasp Emmett McGuckin goal gave the Oak Leafers a one-point win in Celtic Park over Kildare but, for a second, it was ruled out when Tyrone whistler Sean Hurson blew for a free out for a foul on goalkeeper Mark Donnellan.
Then, the umpire stepped in and advised him otherwise. Hurson was told that McGuckin just made contact with the ball and that there was no foul.
To the referee’s credit, he overruled his own decision.
Kildare were aggrieved but there wasn’t much in it.
Donnellan catches the ball.
McGuckin punches the ball.
The umpire made sure justice was served. He still got abuse for it though.
https://twitter.com/heaph93/status/835876344479244288
Unreal @KildareGAA get robbed last kick of the game in Derry when are @officialgaa going to sort out these refs. How can an umpire overrule
— jonathan condron (@jonathancondron) February 26, 2017
. The umpire must have backed Derry @ 5/2
— Niall Murray (@NiallMurray01) February 26, 2017
It wasn’t a square ball either. From open play, players can now enter the square as soon as the last deliberate play of the ball has been made – in this case, the kick.
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