FORMER KILKENNY HURLER Richie Power believes that goal-line technology is required after O’Loughlin Gaels were denied what appeared to be a legitimate goal in Sunday’s All-Ireland final.
Replay footage shows that Owen Wall’s first-half effort was carried over the line by St Thomas’ full-back Fintan Burke, but the score was not awarded. O’Loughlin Gaels selector Nigel Skehan labelled the incident as a “ridiculous decision” during an interview with KCLR after a thrilling final where the Kilkenny champions were defeated by a point.
Power says that O’Loughlin Gaels were perhaps fortunate not to have suffered any red cards during the game which became hostile at times, and resulted in the dismissal of St Thomas’ James Regan. But he also adds that the officiating mistake proved costly for O’Loughlin Gaels in the end.
“With all the technology that’s out there, how we haven’t goal-line technology in relation to incidents like that?” says Power who is the subject of the first episode in the new seasons of TG4′s Laochra Gael.
“Hawkeye can figure out points. How they can’t come up with something in relation to goals? People will talk about the positioning of the umpires. Ok, they probably weren’t in the best positions to make the call but it’s human error at the end of the day.
“It’s human error. You can blame referees, umpires but at the end of the day, if you have goal-line technology there, it’s a very easy decision then. The referee gets something on his watch or something in his ear to say it was a goal. It takes the decision out of the umpire and the referee’s in live play.”
Power, who was forced to retire from the Kilkenny hurlers in 2016 due to knee injuries, was reported to be in line for the position as manager of Ballyhale Shamrocks at the end of last year.
The Carrickshock man says he withdrew his name from consideration as he felt it wasn’t the right position for him, and will be working with the Shelmaliers club in Wexford for 2024 instead.
“I just kind of got the feeling that the players maybe wanted a different direction, they wanted some of the previous management involved.
“Personally I kind of wanted to bring in my own management and just freshen things up completely. I kind of got that feeling from it. If the players aren’t going to be entirely happy, at the end of the day they are the most important people in a setup and for that reason I pulled my name from the running on the Tuesday night before the committee met.
“It would have been a huge opportunity, a huge club with great success. And I’ve nothing but admiration for Ballyhale Shamrocks. Look, maybe the opportunity will arise down the line but who knows.”
The new Laochra Gael season begins this week with an episode about Richie Power on Thursday night at 9.3opm on TG4
