Taylor questions a

SPEAKING after his side’s late defeat to Down at Connolly Park, Sligo manager Paul Taylor (pictured) was left questioning the GAA’s decision to appoint an Armagh based referee to Sunday’s game.

Taylor pointed out the fact he did not blame Padraig Hughes for his team’s loss, but did say he felt it was unfair to have an official from a neighbouring county oversee the game.

“We had momentum at times when he pulled the game back”, the Eastern Harps man argued. “He’s supposed to be a Division 1 referee and he’s an Armagh referee, which, I didn’t make any comment on before the game. But it’s a bit close to home for Down. I’m disappointed with that.”

He continued: “He’s going to know their players. But it’s not just that. The standard of refereeing was shocking.

“I’ll be honest and I don’t want to be giving out about referees but it’s not just about where he is from, the standard was terrible.”

“That bit of luck sometimes goes your way and I genuinely would have to question a lot of the referee’s decisions today.

“The Pat Hughes red card wasn’t a red, it was a black. Pat would have been off the field anyway but it wasn’t just that. “But it wasn’t the referee who beat us.”

The Sligo boss said he was happy with how his players applied themselves in tough conditions and after a poor performance in Carlow a week previous. “We’ll definitely take a lot of positives”, he said. “I thought it was a great game even with the weather.

“We are disappointed but all we can ask of our players is that they give everything, which they did.

“We were beaten by a good