Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice was unhappy with the black card shown to substitute Darran O’Sullivan early in the second half, saying that it had a major impact on Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final replay loss to Mayo.
The Kingdom went down by five points, 2-16 to 0-17, with O’Sullivan walking following what referee David Gough ruled was a body check nine minutes after he was introduced as a half-time substitute.
O’Sullivan and Mayo captain Cillian O’Connor, who was himself black-carded before the end, tangled away from the play on the Hogan Stand touchline with Mayo on the attack into the Canal End goal.
"For a lot of the cards, especially when you are on the line they are so far away from you and you can’t make it out," said Fitzmaurice.
"But I saw that incident and he shouldn’t have got a black card, it should have been the other way.
"What it meant was that we were robbed of his impact and we were robbed of a substitution, that’s what it meant. Look, you get these calls and you don’t get these calls, but that was definitely the wrong call."
Whenever a team exits the Championship speculation immediately turns to the manager’s future and any likely retirements of players over 30.
Kieran Donaghy is 34-years-old, Donnchadh Walsh 33, Darran O’Sullivan and Bryan Sheehan both 31 and Anthony Maher and Killian Young 30.
Fitzmaurice, who has another year left on his deal as manager with the Kerry County Board, says he hasn’t thought about his future and insists that each player should be left alone to make up their own minds on their involvement next year.
"I haven’t thought about the future to be honest," he said. "We were all so zoomed in on the replay, that was our only focus. Any time there’s a loss we’re all going to think now and re-consider and see what the best way forward for Kerry is, and we’ll do that over the next couple of weeks.
"I don’t think we’ve that many older fellas as we did in the last couple of years. I think all of them can play on if they want to, but it’s a huge commitment.
"People don’t realise, people don’t have a clue. The only people that know really are wives and girlfriends - that’s it. Parents don’t even know.
"It’s absolutely a massive, massive commitment and the lads will make their own minds up in their own time and they’ll deserve that much at least, to be allowed that space and decide if they have the appetite. But what those fellas put in, people don’t know, they just haven’t a clue really."
Kerry are going for a four in-a-row of All-Ireland minor titles and they will face the winner of Sunday’s second semi-final, either Dublin or Derry, in the final on September 17.
This means there are plenty of talented young footballers coming through in the Kingdom and while this is something Fitzmaurice is happy to see, he warns that doesn’t necessarily convert into senior success.
"There’s great talent coming through and that’s a challenge, getting that talent up to senior level and getting them ready," he explained.
"Massive talent coming through but that doesn’t equate to success. It’s hard to win All-Irelands despite what people talk about: soft All-Irelands, it’s hard to win them. That’s a positive challenge getting them up to the level required."
