Former Monaghan defender Vinny Corey said the David Clifford flashpoint in Tyrone on Sunday may not have been quite as clear-cut as it may have appeared.
The Kingdom captain was given a second yellow card in the Allianz Football League Division One clash in Edendork following an-off-the ball incident with Ben McDonald.
Referee Fergal Kelly showed both players a yellow card after consulting his umpires and with Clifford already on a yellow, he was given his marching orders.
Ciarán Whelan said it was a "terrible decision", with Tomás Ó Sé later tweeting that it was an "easy way out for ref book the two of them".
Corey, speaking to RTÉ 2fm's Game On, agreed that cynical play should be punished but stressed that television viewers may not have seen the full story.
"I wasn't at the game, all we can go on is the camera angle," he said.
"When the camera angle switched to Clifford, it looks as though it was at the tail end of something. He seemed to be holding his hands up, he was dragged to the ground. In that instance he looked completely innocent.
"Again, we were at the mercy of the camera there. We didn't see what happened before that, but you'd like to think ... it happened right in front of the umpires and a bit of common sense... if he was completely innocent in defending himself, you'd think the umpires would be able to spot that.
"I suppose if it was cynical you'd have to condemn it but to give it a bit of balance, I know there's a lot of outcry about it, but from a defender's point of view I've seen plenty of times over the years where a defender has been on the yellow card and a top-class forward has ran at him, pulled his arm down to the ground and got him sent off.
"You can't condone either one but I'd like to think there'd be a bit of an outcry as well if that was done to a defender."
