MICKEY HARTE DESCRIBED the black card rule as “baffling” as Tyrone crashed out of the All-Ireland football championship.
Joe Brolly slammed referee Maurice Deegan’s performance in Sunday’s semi-final and said: “He did something to Tyrone that normally happens between consenting adults in private.”
Among the talking points was Deegan’s decision to black card Tyrone full-back Ronan McNamee in the second half for what appeared to be a yellow-card offence.
Tyrone’s frustration was then compounded a few moments later when Shane Enright then escaped with a yellow for dragging down Peter Harte.
“Baffling is the word,” Harte said.
“Inconsistency is the word again. I just don’t see the difference.
If one of them is a black, the other one is a black. If they’re both yellows, so be it, but I don’t see how you could have one of each colour.
“It just doesn’t seem to make sense.”
Harte wouldn’t be drawn when asked if the decisions should have in fact gone the other way with McNamee cautioned and Enright sent to the line.
“That’s for you independent observers to suggest,” he added. “I dare not do that.”
One decision that did go Tyrone’s way was the penalty which Peter Harte converted to spark a comeback with 10 minutes to play.
Mark Bradley followed up with the equalising point to leave the game poised at 1-11 to 0-14 before Kerry reeled off four unanswered scores to book their place in the final.
As well as the three clear-cut goal chances Tyrone missed, Harte was left to rue three wides they kicked from placed balls at a crucial period.
“Because we couldn’t score frees from 50 metres, or 45,” he said when asked why momentum petered out after Harte’s penalty.
“If we had been on the form today, like once before in Croke Park when Niall Morgan hit five out of six kicks, I would have loved that statistic today.
“Another day we were back here, Darren McCurry knocked over a 45 and another free from a really awkward angle. If he had been in that sort of form today then it would have been a different matter altogether.”
He added: “The winner takes all and when games are won, people look at what the winners did and believe they did everything to perfection. They look at the losers and think there are lots of things they did wrong.
I don’t look at life like that. When you win, you make lots of mistakes and when you lose, you do things very well but don’t do enough.
“I wouldn’t say it was down to lack of composure. We were very composed at times and so were Kerry when they needed to be.”
