‘No real malice’
The second goal, Noel McGrath’s first of the afternoon to put the Premier men six points up in the 20th minute, was a particularly contentious moment in the match.
It resulted in an irate Fitzgerald making his way onto the pitch where he remonstrated with referee Diarmuid Kirwan and was confronted by a couple of Tipperary players.
Fitzgerald was incensed that corner-back James Breen was not awarded a free out in the lead up to the goal, and speaking on RTE’s League Sunday, Tyrrell agreed it was the wrong decision from the Offaly-born, Cork-based referee.
‘It is a free out for Wexford. No doubt about it,’ he told viewers while pointing out that Kirwan’s distance from the incident, and the number of players in front of him, may have impaired his view.
‘Davy is quite animated and he has every right to be, but he shouldn’t be encroaching onto the field. Davy will know that. Luckily enough there was no real malice, or no real fall-out from it,’ said the former Kilkenny corner-back, who played under Fitzgerald with Limerick I.T.
Ken McGrath, who was part of the Waterford team managed by the Clareman, believed Fitzgerald’s passion got the better of him and felt he will regret his course of action.
‘We all know he’s an unbelievably passionate man. He was probably aggrieved, it was a free at an important stage of the game. He overstepped the mark being out on the pitch.
‘Thankfully the players had common sense and it didn’t escalate. I’m sure sitting at home he probably regrets what he did, but that’s Davy. He wears his heart on his sleeve. I think the Wexford players got a lift from it, but it’s not what you want to see.’