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Anthony Daly was speaking on Allianz League Sunday. RTÉ GAA

'No flow to the game, very frustrating' - Daly slams free tallies in hurling league games

The Clare legend said that referees should allow for a better flow in matches.

ANTHONY DALY HAS hit out at the high number of frees that were awarded in some of the hurling league games at the weekend, saying it was “very frustrating” to watch.

There were 16 cards distributed in the Division 1 Group B clash between Dublin and Wexford at Croke Park on Saturday, including three red cards. The fans seemed to be annoyed by the volume of frees awarded by referee Johnny Murphy, which disrupted the flow of the game. 

“I was in Croke Park and the sense of frustration around the ground that the fantastic game we have in hurling, the fantastic sport everyone will acknowledge was just stop-start, [the game] was constantly blown,” Daly began while speaking on RTÉ’s Allianz League Sunday.

Daly, who was joined by Derek McGrath, went on to mention the number of frees that were called during Limerick’s two-point victory over Cork on Sunday, where Aaron Gillane and Patrick Horgan scored a combined 0-26 from placed balls.

“92 frees in the best two surfaces in the country — Croke Park and Páirc Uí Chaoimh between 50 and 42. Do we want that?

People are saying the rules have to be applied the very same as in football. It’s not the same game as football, it’s a different game.

“If I foul Derek on the half-line in football, Derek will take a quick punt pass to somebody near him. If it’s hurling, you’ll bring Patrick Horgan back 100 yards.”

When asked if frees should be ignored to promote more movement in hurling, the Clare legend responded:

“You don’t ignore [it] but there’s a medium. You have to allow somewhere for that balance where you keep law and order and let the game flow. We have to have that. And the sense of frustration… you heard Kieran Kingston use it as a bit of a flippant remark about 20 frees and they’re not supposed to be the toughest team in Ireland.

No flow to the game, very frustrating.

“We all didn’t have great games in Croke Park, I’m not blaming any particular official. What instruction are they being given [is what] I’m wondering.”

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