JON Lynch says David Gough’s reaction to Sunday’s Armagh-Tyrone pile-in at the Athletic Grounds was “heavy-handed”.
In the latter stages of a Division One derby which Armagh dominated, players from both sides became involved in a bad-tempered melee and referee Gough sent off five players - Armagh’s Greg McCabe and Tyrone quartet Padraig Hampsey, Peter Harte, Michael McKernan and Kieran McGeary - for their parts in it.
Not since Antrim whistler John Gough (no relation to David) sent off four players in the 1983 All-Ireland final has a refereeing performance caused such a furore. Some say Gough’s punishment fitted the players’ crimes but others dismissed the whole affair as “handbags”. Lynch is in the latter camp.
“Nobody underestimates how tough it is to be a referee in Gaelic Football,” said the former Tyrone forward, a veteran of some blood-and-thunder derby battles in the 1980s.
“But I felt the referee over-reacted. I didn’t see one fist being thrown – there was a lot of pulling and hauling and arms around the neck and, by the letter of the law, maybe they were red cards but the same thing happened between Dublin and Kerry on Saturday and there wasn’t a word about it. Why is there such a reaction when there’s two Ulster teams involved?
“If you’re going to go by the letter of the law, then everybody involved in that whole situation should have been sent off. I don’t understand where he was coming from with the red cards, he could have booked a few of them and it would have settled down and blown over. It wasn’t thuggery, it was pushing and shoving but it’s at the top table of the GAA now and I’d say some of the Tyrone lads will get a fairly lengthy suspension out of it.”
Despite careful scrutiny of camera phone footage of the prolonged melee, it’s difficult to pinpoint blows being thrown. However, players were held in ‘choke holds’ by opponents and dragged to the ground and Lynch says: “I wouldn’t condone doing things like that”.
“But these situations sometimes arise and it can be down to self-preservation – you grab somebody thinking: ‘I don’t want to hit somebody but I don’t want to get hit either’. There was nobody getting hit and I think that Gaelic Football has mellowed so much – you don’t see anybody get punched now, it just doesn’t happen anymore.
“There’s always plenty of steam when Tyrone play Armagh and I’ve been involved in it myself but those days are gone. Sunday’s game was about Tyrone being All-Ireland champions and Armagh going out to prove a point and they proved it well and truly on the field – they were by far the best team.
“I don’t buy into this notion that Tyrone were getting stuffed and decided to have a fight. It wasn’t that at all – a situation blew out of the heat that was in the game and it was handbags, there wasn’t a punch thrown. It was a heavy-handed reaction to it.”
If there is to be another meeting this year, it will be in the Ulster Championship final should both counties get that far. Lynch doubts that grudges will be carried-over should that happen.
“These things create a bit of media attention but if Tyrone meet Armagh in an Ulster final there will be no second round,” he said.
“You can guarantee there’ll be plenty of hard-hitting and boys letting each other know who’s boss but if Tyrone meet Armagh, and I hope they do, I don’t see anything coming from yesterday. I can remember us having a serious ‘barney’ with Cavan one time and we had to go to Croke Park over suspensions and then we played them again there wasn’t a word about it.
“That’s the great thing about the GAA – whatever happens on the pitch, happens but when it’s done and dusted it’s forgot about.”
