Ref made the right call, insists Brogan

GAA:Bernard Brogan has praised referee Cormac Reilly for having the courage to award the contentious free to Dublin last Sunday, insisting he was being fouled by Kildare defender Andriú MacLochlainn as the pair challenged for possession deep into injury time. The free denied Kildare a replay after they had drawn level moments earlier.

Reilly’s decision, which resulted in the simplest of points for the footballer of the year to secure a place in the Leinster final, has been the subject of heated debate all week. MacLochlainn pleaded his innocence in the immediate aftermath, a view endorsed by his manager while television pundits were heavily critical of Reilly.

But Brogan, writing on hill16.ie, claims he had already been fouled on a number of occasions and the official was well within his rights to afford the free.

“I was just running for a ball and the defender got too close to me and my feet and his got caught up and tangled and I couldn’t run freely and my way was being impeded,” the forward explained. “We were one-on-one going for a ball and my way was impeded and that’s a free in my book.

“Fair play to the referee as he showed courage to make the call. There’s been a lot of talk about it because of the time of the game where it happened – but if it had happened 10 minutes earlier it would still be a free and there would have been nothing made of it.”