GAA legend weighs in on controversial incident as he calls for 'a bit of cop on'
Paul Flynn wants to see 'a bit of cop on' from officials following an incident that infuriated Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney over the weekend.A three-man breach decision awarded Galway a free against Armagh which led to Rob Finnerty scoring a goal. Joe McElroy was pulled for a breach with McGeeney claiming he was speaking to the Armagh management about needing to come off with an injury.Speaking on the incident after the game, McGeeney said: “Shocking. Absolutely shocking stuff fellas. If that’s the level that we are going to be adhered to. . . Joe (McElroy), you can see it plain as day. He stops, and he walks towards me because he’s hurt. For the fourth official to call that a breach, I don’t even know if he crossed the half-way line but he is within the five-metre line.“Shocking stuff. Absolutely shocking. I know I am not allowed to use the words I would like to use. But you seen it. It’s shocking stuff. Absolutely shocking.“But when a fella is coming over to say he needs to come off. And there’s a five-metre buffer zone. There is a rule there that states very f**king clearly that you are not interfering with the play, it is a free-kick from the halfway line. So even if he is wrong, and takes it, absolutely shocking stuff.”Flynn had sympathy for McGeeney, saying on League Sunday on RTE: "(The footage) is inconclusive but if he was just over the line, the rule states he's not impeding the play, you've got four metres of a (buffer)."You can see Galway are looking for the breach so that can probably impact on the officiating, but look at the impact it has, (the free) goes straight into the net, and it really shifted the momentum in this game, so you can see Kieran McGeeney's frustration at it."Look, referees are going to make mistakes all across the weekend and there is a lot for them to be dealing with. In these incidents of the breaches of the three up, I just want to see a bit of cop on. If they're not impacting the play, even if it's six metres, don't call him for no reason."In those instances you just want to see the game flow, and it did turn the momentum in a game where Armagh were in control. Is it the reason Armagh lost the game? You could argue that one, but at that moment in time it had a big sway in how the game was going."Click here to sign up to our sport newsletter, bringing you the top stories and biggest headlines from Ireland and beyond.
