GAA president Larry McCarthy may not have been impressed with Kieran McGeeney’s remonstrations with match referee Conor Lane.
In the match programme, McCarthy took managers who blame referees to task.
“It has been disappointing to see a small number of managers vent their disappointment in defeat at the door of our referees when perhaps they should have turned their attention closer to home.
“Corner forwards can miss ‘sitters’, goalkeepers can let in complete ‘clangers’ and will be forgiven but if a referee makes a mistake, they are rarely, if ever, given the same latitude,” he wrote.
Seán Moran: League’s championship promise may be clouding but it remains bright at the top
Malachy Clerkin: The GAA should make more of St Patrick’s Day - and more of its intercounty stars
Sports Review 2023: Mary Hannigan picks the best quotes from the sporting year
GAA happy that GAAGo has ‘bedded in well’ as 2024 season launches
McCarthy also mentioned Monaghan’s “resurgence”, with the county on a high following their minors making the All-Ireland final and “the progress of their ladies senior team.”
The Farney women, who made nine All-Ireland senior finals between 1994 and 2013, were relegated last year from senior ranks after a 30-year stay and have won one and lost one in the Intermediate Championship this year, having finished seventh in Division 2 of the league.
In numbers
54 – Seconds between Cork and Derry’s goals yesterday.
Are penalty shoot-outs a natural GAA skill?
Armagh’s disappointing record in championship penalty shoot-outs continued as they lost a third in 53 weeks, having been beaten by Galway in last year’s All-Ireland quarter-final and Derry in this year’s Ulster final.
After they were knocked out last year, Rian O’Neill appeared on the GAA Social podcast and was asked about shoot-outs as a method to decide matches.
“In my opinion, I don’t think it’s right, I don’t think it’s a natural skill of Gaelic football to go up and take a penalty ...” the Crossmaglen Rangers man, who has now scored three kicks from four in the three shoot-outs, stated.
“Fair enough extra time, but I don’t think it should be going to penalties.”
We can only guess that the Orchard captain hasn’t revised his opinion following Saturday’s denouement.
GAAGO under fire
GAAGO came under a bit of fire online on Saturday, with some tweeters voicing their displeasure at the service.
The platform’s official Twitter account, @GAAGO, attempted to solve any issues and directed subscribers experiencing problems to raise a ticket with their support team.
One user became particularly irate at this response, tweeting “If you think you can pin this down to me on my side you live in fantasy land” to which @GAAGO replied, “We’re not trying to ‘pin’ anything Dermot, but we can’t help you troubleshoot if you don’t engage with our support team. “Unfortunately not everyone’s internet connection will support live streaming, but the majority of users have thankfully enjoyed today’s games with no issues.”
[ Colm Basquel leads from the front as Dublin kick into gear to rout MayoOpens in new window ]
In words
“An rud is annamh is iontach. You don’t see that too often.”
Eamonn Fitzmaurice on RTÉ co-comms after Stephen Cluxton sent a kick-out over the sideline in the 49th minute.
Legends meet at Croke Park
An interested spectator at yesterday’s matches was Roy Keane. Walking towards the ground, according to the Schemozzle’s source on the scene, Keane was followed by a group of young supporters chanting his name and requesting selfies, much to his obvious irritation.
That was until he was accosted by one of his sporting peers, Kerry legend Jack O’Shea. The meeting of Cork and Kerry sporting greats on Jones’ Road saw Keane warmly greet the iconic former Kingdom midfielder.
