Referee admits dismissal of O'Neill was a mistake

Michael Collins, the referee who sent off Tyrone's Stephen O'Neill in Saturday's Ulster final replay. has admitted that he made a mistake in believing that the player had already received a yellow card.

O'Neill was sent off at a critical juncture in the second half, following on the dismissal of Peter Canavan within a minute of his coming on as a replacement.

O'Neill hit Armagh defender Andy Mallon with a late tackle and received a yellow and red card. Enquiries from media as to when the first yellow had been administered were referred to Fr Séamus Gardiner, PRO of the National Referees Committee.

Yesterday he had this to say: "I rang Michael Collins who acknowledged that he had misread his notes and accepted that he had made a mistake. That is a question of fact and he is very disappointed about it." Asked could this matter be taken further, Fr Gardiner said that it wasn't a matter for the NRC. "That would be for other bodies to consider. Our interest was in the question of fact as to whether the first yellow had been shown. That is why we are not commenting on the other sendings-off. They were matters of judgement.

This was a matter of fact." It will be up to Tyrone to decide whether they wish to lodge an objection on foot of this development.