Cork v Tipperary: Red cards for Barrett and Forde too harsh, Ben O'Connor feels

Red cards for Shane Barrett and Jason Forde in Saturday’s Allianz HL Division 1A clash between Cork and Tipperary were a punishment far in excess of the crime, in the eyes of Rebels manager Ben O’Connor.

A melee coming up half-time in Cork’s 0-29 to 0-22 win featured all 30 players but the two attackers were the ones collared by referee Liam Gordon, along with yellow cards for Alan Connolly of Cork and Tipp’s Willie Connors, whose wrestling had started it all.

Speaking after the game, O’Connor lamented the fact that referees are constricted in such situations, not least because they will be punished in terms of assessment if they act differently to what is prescribed.

“I'm not blaming Liam Gordon for anything,” O’Connor said, “I'm blaming the GAA officials.

“Last week, my words got twisted and turned. I was speaking to ye above in Galway after the match and RTÉ had something on, I wasn't even watching it, something above in Dublin on Sunday night about one of our players. My comments were twisted and turned.

“What I'm on about is, and when I say soccer, red card, yellow card, technical areas, you can't go onto the field, can't get a message in. So where are we getting all this from? We're getting it from soccer. That's where it's all after coming from. No fella gets a belt.
“A Fitzgibbon Cup match, I was watching it the other night, a University of Galway fella ran out, there was a UL fella in front of him, he went up to bat the ball. He got the ball and tapped your man on the back of the head, yellow card. Is that a yellow card? That's what our helmets are for. How many years ago were we playing without helmets?

“There's no fella giving a fella a slap down on the head for no reason with a hurley. I said it outside there, we're playing the fastest field game in the world, so if I'm going 100 miles an hour that way and there's a fella turning and twisting and I put my hurley out and it gives him a tap, I didn't mean to do that. We're getting a yellow card for that.

“We'd two fellas sent off outside – we're after seeing it below on the screen – two of them below are pulling jerseys, and we've two fellas that are training for the last six months and that's the way they're treated.”

Barrett and Forde were dismissed for the offence of contributing to a melee – unfortunately for the Blarney man, the fact that he was also red-carded in Cork’s Munster SHC opener against Clare last April means that he is likely to be given a two-game suspension.

“I'm not here going fighting against the GAA or any of them, but I'm looking for the game to be played the way it should be played, and that's just let the boys at it. If there's a dirty belt, let them at it. The referee inside, a fella above sitting in the stand, and he telling the referee, ‘You didn't do that, you didn't do that.’ Ticking boxes, that's what it is, ticking boxes, and we're refereeing games by numbers now, that's what it is.

And the referee is so worried about, I won't get a game again for the rest of the year, I have to tick the boxes. The best Munster final in memory for the last few years was Clare and Limerick [2022], John Keenan reffed it, obviously didn't do what he was supposed to do that day.

“Everyone said safter what a great day out John Keenan had, brilliant match, brilliantly refereed, and he got no more matches after that.”