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Talking Points

Colm Cooper on... Sky Sports, a move into punditry, the black card and more

The injured Kerry star gives his thoughts.

Colm Cooper waits for his team mates INPHO / Lorraine O'Sullivan INPHO / Lorraine O'Sullivan / Lorraine O'Sullivan

On the black card

Just from watching games on TV, the scoring average would be up very high. Maybe that has impacted on it. Any league game I watched you’d need 20 points or more to win it. Before you would have won with 12 or 13.In fairness to referees, it has been quite good, used sensibly. You will always have one or two cases that will be debatable and that managers won’t be happy with.

It will be interesting to see how it goes in the Championship. I just hope we don’t have a scenario where teams think it has cost them matches — and there’s no doubt will in some cases.

It was brought in to cut out the cynical play, and if it helps creates a better game to watch and a better game to play in, then hopefully it will improve the game.

On the 2013 All-Ireland semi-final v Dublin

It flew by, and you couldn’t take your eyes off it as a player. When we attacked, got a goal or point, you couldn’t catch your breath because Cluxton had the ball kicked out again before you knew it.There was an awful of quality as well, and if we get a few games like that this summer we’ll be quite happy.It’s a bad memory at the moment. We deal in the results business and we didn’t get a result that day. Hopefully it’s something that the team can learn lessons from and can come out the right side this year in a similar scenario.

On the GAA’s deal with Sky

It’s a strange one. I know there has been big debate in Kerry about it over the last week since it has been announced and I think the older generation of supporters are disappointed by it because they grew up on RTÉ, watching the matches live. They are finding it very difficult to deal with it.Then you have the younger supporter who was brought up on Sky Sports, watching Monday Night football and Super Sundays. They are quite excited by that, wondering is that where the GAA is heading.

The big issue is the pay per view. I know the GAA are exploring avenues for GAA clubs [subscriptions], and if that’s going to help all the best.

Maybe there is a market for both of them there. It is an exciting time listening to Paraic Duffy and some of the lads speaking. The big thing I got from it was they are trying to grow the game globally and get it to appeal to people differently in the UK in particular and get GAA more popular around the world and they have a duty to do that too.

RTÉ will still have the majority of games – I know that won’t please everyone. I don’t have a massive opinion. It’s moving with the times. You can be rightly or wrongly against it.

On the possibility of him working as a TV pundit this summer

I’m not too sure would anyone value my opinion but I haven’t given any thought to it. The most important thing for me is to get my knee back in rehab pretty well and hopefully watching Kerry doing well in the summer.

‘Deep down I knew I had done quite a bit of damage’: Colm Cooper on the long road back from cruciate injury

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