Kilkenny Also Benefitted From Officiating Error As Paddy Deegan 'Blessed Not To Walk'

The fallout to the Tipperary v Kilkenny All-Ireland semifinal has been dominated by discussion of the scoreboard gaffe that awarded Tipp a late extra point and altered the endgame for both sides.

'Human error' has been served up as an explanation for the controversy, and Kilkenny can feel desperately unlucky about how the match played out. However, it's also worth remembering that Kilkenny also gained from an officiating error.

In the second half, Paddy Deegan's hurl made contact with the helmet of Tipp's Andrew Ormond as three Kilkenny players surrounded the Nenagh man near the sideline.

Deegan was already on a yellow card but luckily for Kilkenny, Mikey Carey was booked by ref James Owens for the incident.

It might have been unclear to the naked eye, but video replay clearly shows the hurl of Deegan (number seven) hitting Ormond's helmet. Replay show Owens's linesman not far from the incident.

Writing in his weekly refereeing review in the Irish Examiner, Brian Gavin wrote that Deegan was "blessed not to walk for a second yellow card".

If Deegan had been sent off, both sides would have had 14 players for the final phase of the game, and Kilkenny's hand would have been severely weakened.

Owens' approach to officiating the game came under some scrutiny on the Sunday Game, especially around the sending off of Darragh McCarthy.

McCarthy was sent off for a second yellow card for a flick on Kilkenny 'keeper Eoin Murphy.

Galway great Joe Canning noted a change in refereeing compared to the Munster championship and thought the second half of the game was too stop-start due to the refereeing.

“It’s all on the referee as well because there is different interpretations of different things, there was loads of frees today given at times where, especially in the Munster championship and stuff like that they are not giving, they are let go and the game is a free flowing a little bit more.

But that’s the way it is, it was frustrating looking at the game, I think through the second half there was frees given and I was kind of going ‘just let it flow a little bit more’, he was gone with the advantage and they had the pass given already.

But another referee may have just given him a last warning for that second slap and just say ‘next one, you’re gone’".

Limerick's Tom Morrissey thought that McCarthy gave Owens no choice.

It's expected McCarthy will be available for selection for the All-Ireland final despite yesterday's sending off.