Owens and team in centre of Clare storm
SOCIAL MEDIA was on fire on Sunday evening with comments on the dismissal of Clare’s David Reidy during their Munster championship win against Limerick, and none of it that we read was complimentary towards referee James Owens.
There was universal condemnation for the decision to send off the forward following an innocuous coming together with defender Diarmaid Byrnes close to the Limerick goal in the first-half.
Owens mustn’t have seen the incident, but what’s particularly interesting is that the two umpires he consulted with before issuing the red card to Reidy are both local referees: his brother, David, and Ian Plunkett.
There could be no arguing against the dismissal of Limerick’s Tom Condon as he drove his hurl into Reidy’s midriff as a reaction to the sight of team-mate Byrnes on the ground.
However, what on earth prompted the two officials closest to the original incident to presumably inform Owens that it also merited a red card?
If it’s any consolation to the
Askamore official, it would appear that making controversial decisions isn’t an impediment to being appointed to future games in the current climate.
That’s the only conclusion one could draw from the sight of Galway’s Alan Kelly as linesman in our loss to Kilkenny in Nowlan Park, just one week after Tipperary were awarded a phantom goal on his watch against Waterford.
And there he was again last
Sunday, with flag in hand once more in Ennis. Truly the mind boggles.