CENTRE STAGE
Match official will find his every call is under scrutiny
Something would be wrong if the losers didn’t have a beef
THE way some Mayo supporters see it, Joe McQuillan is some sort of lucky charm for Dublin on big-match day, like the miraculous medal that one of Jim Gavin’s players might tuck inside his jersey as he walks behind the Artane Band at Croke Park just before 3.30pm on Sunday.
‘Dublin Joe’ is a phrase that has populated conversations on the airwaves and message boards, a casual throwaway phrase that might sound harmless enough but goes to the heart of a referee’s integrity and lack of bias.
It dates back to the summer of 2011, the Cavan official the man in the middle when Dublin made the big All-Ireland final breakthrough, a day when a couple of key decisions went the way of a team chasing a first senior title in 16 years.
Among them, Kevin McManamon double-hopped the ball at a crucial juncture in the second half while Declan O’Sullivan took an unpunished hit that, right to this day, still sticks in the craw of those involved in the losing dressing room.
The free against Barry John Keane that saw Stephen Cluxton job up the field to kick an iconic winning free also carried a sense of injustice down south.
In the fall-out, then Kerry manager Jack O’Connor felt compelled to see a letter dispatched to Croke Park, demanding an explanation over the criteria of McQuillan’s appointment for the final, given he refereed four of Dublin’s six Championship games that summer.
Ahead of the 2012 semi-final, Mayo manager James Horan publicly referenced the fact that the official had taken charge of a Dublin internal squad game on request.
Yet that doesn’t match Jim Gavin’s reaction in the press conference straight after Dublin’s 2013 final victory over Mayo which was a bruising affair.
‘Not only were we playing Mayo but we were playing the referee as well,’ remarked someone who was clearly disgusted with the free count — 32 awarded against Dublin compared to 12 against Mayo.
That single sentence debunks the myth that the appointment of the Cavan official is somehow going to suit the reigning champions.
Over the last seven summers, Dublin have lost just two Championship matches — the 2012 semi-final against Mayo and the 2014 semi-final against Donegal. McQuillan was the man in the middle each time.
Being tasked for the majority of Dublin games in 2011 is not on him — that’s down to Croke Park’s selection process.
As for the Kerry inquest, well, there would almost be something wrong if the losing team didn’t have a beef. In last year’s semifinal, the beef was with David Gough who was blind-sided for the crucial challenge by McManamon on Peter Crowley.
It’s time to debunk the myth that either team on Sunday has an advantage before the ball is thrown in.
The propaganda war is now an important weapon of choice in the build up to big games. At the launch of the Leinster Championships, there was nothing accidental about Gavin taking a strip off Roscommon official Paddy Neilan for being tasked with the National League final given that he hadn’t officiated in a topflight game all spring.
‘You would have to certainly question the logic behind exposing a referee with that experience in those high-pressure games,’ said the Blues’ boss. Kerry just happened to win that game, bringing Dublin’s historic 36-game unbeaten run in League and Championship to an end.
Rather than parking it, Gavin clearly wanted to change the ‘narrative’ on Dublin as the summer approached. ‘I still think that referees have been influenced by that narrative that we are a cynical team,’ he said. ‘I think it could have an impact or an influence on how referees make decisions against our players.’
It’s as if he had a date like this Sunday in mind down the line.
Much was made of referee Gough living in Dublin after the 2016 semi-final against Kerry. In a county where 1.3 million others are domiciled, McQuillan has had to live with a similar conversation that his address could have an impact on a decision he makes in a high-stakes game involving Dublin. Open season.
The propaganda war saw the focus firmly planted on Lee Keegan’s running battle with Diarmuid Connolly in the buildup to last year’s two-legged final. Did it play any part, even subconsciously, in Maurice Deegan’s decision to black card the Mayo defender for a tangle with his old dance partner that was hugely contentious?
If Gavin was raging with the free count after the 2013 decider, Mayo free-taker Cillian O’Connor was also raging. He put a close-range free over the bar in injury time, after a discussion with McQuillan. The Mayo player thought there would be time for one final play — the referee’s subsequent whistle suggested he’d picked the official up wrong. He said as much afterwards. McQuillan then knows that his every decision on Sunday will be under scrutiny.
‘I refereed Dublin and Mayo in the final in 2013, and two years ago in the drawn semi-final. I’m familiar with both teams, I know the players involved. It should be an intriguing game between the two stand-out teams from the last couple of years, who keep coming to the top. It will be a great day.’
Here’s hoping he called it right.