Tipperary may call for introduction of a video ref

TIPPERARY COUNTY board chairman Barry O’Brien wasn’t looking to scapegoat Sunday’s All-Ireland final referee Diarmuid Kirwan, no more than manager Liam Sheedy or scorer-in-chief Eoin Kelly had done so in the immediate aftermath when they showed great magnanimity following a heart-rending defeat.

The official’s decision to award Kilkenny a penalty was taken in a nanosecond without the benefit of slow motion or recourse to replays. The consensus was it should not have been a penalty, but O’Brien was more concerned with looking forward rather than back and putting in place a system likes those employed to assist officials in rugby and cricket amongst other sports.

He explained: “Since I have become chairman I’ve seen the effort our team and management have made. When you get to an All-Ireland final, it’s not every day that you get to one, but having made the effort you’d like to ensure the big calls are the correct calls.

“I wouldn’t criticise the referee or take anything away from Kilkenny; they are a wonderful team. I haven’t seen the television analysis, but I hear that all the pundits say it wasn’t a penalty; it was probably a free out.

“If that is the case, the association should consider using technology to ensure that, in the future, the big calls on the big day are the correct calls and that the 10 months work put in by a team to get to that final should not be influenced by one incorrect decision, if that is the case.

“We as a county will have to consider bringing a motion to congress next year to try and introduce the use of technology into provincial finals and All-Ireland semi-finals and finals to make sure the decisions are not only the right decisions, but are seen to be the right decisions.

“I would be very optimistic about the future of this team and hurling in general in Tipperary. We are going in the right direction and with a manager like Liam Sheedy, his back-up team and the talent we have, I have no doubt that we will see Liam MacCarthy back in Tipperary sooner rather than later.”

Tipperary hurling coach Eamon O’Shea also refused to blame the official, eloquently sifting through a performance that touched greatness, right up until the final throes of an enthralling contest.

“Decisions will come and go for you in games. I only saw it once and it did appear to me to be that if the foul was a foul, it was outside and there was over-carrying.

“To judge a game on one isolated incident like that is unfair to the referee. I would tend to look at what we could have done rather than what happened us during the match. We had opportunities to win the game when we were on top and unfortunately just didn’t take them. Their goalie made two very good saves. These are things we can change.

“I can’t change what happened with the referee. I can’t change a referee’s decision. Those decisions are made, that’s how we look at the game. That’s how I look at the game.”

O’Shea’s input has been lauded inside and outside the Tipperary set-up and he smiled when asked about the role Lar Corbett adopted. “The thing about hurling is there are only eight teams; you play each other a lot so all the time you are looking for an advantage to change the structure of a game.

“That’s what we would have tried to do. They were trying to do the same. There was a lot of movement from them as well. Larry had a really good game, was a real leader. It did give us scope to open up their defence a little bit.”

He also pointed out that heading into a final with three 20-year-old players and another of 18 might have been a cause for concern but not when taken in context of these particular young men.

“I think if any other team were going into an All-Ireland final with four under-21 players it might have presented a difficulty. But these young men are very mature, they know what it takes and they have been very influential for Tipperary this year.

“Some of the older Tipp players have got criticism from various quarters that they haven’t managed to get over the line. But they were magnificent; Brendan (Cummins), Eoin (Kelly) and Larry (Corbett) have given huge leadership.

“We had probably a 90 per cent performance rate from players in terms of individuals playing well and still lost the game.”

So what does that say about this Kilkenny team?

“I think Kilkenny are an absolutely outstanding team. To be at pitch level when they are making those tackles, when they are making those runs, it’s absolutely immense.

“I have never seen a better team across different codes, whether it is rugby with Munster, Ireland, the All Blacks: Kilkenny are an outstanding team. There is no other way to put that.”