Dublin forward Seán Currie concedes his second-half penalty against Wexford last Saturday did not cross the line.
Currie’s 50th-minute effort was awarded as a goal but replays showed Mark Fanning had done enough to halt the momentum of the ball and though it still squirmed under him, the Wexford goalkeeper managed to scoop the sliotar up from the goal-line.
Wexford led by three points at the time so the penalty goal was a crucial score in the Leinster SHC clash at Parnell Park, it brought Dublin level and they kicked for home thereafter to win 3-26 to 4-19.
Frustrated Wexford manager Keith Rossiter raised the matter at full-time and having now watched replays of the penalty, Currie admits the ball was not over the line.
“No, it wasn’t,” he says. “To be honest, at the time I couldn’t really see, I thought it might have gone over. I thought it just about went over but obviously seeing the replays I could tell that Mark stopped it just before it went over the line.
“I don’t think it made too much of a difference to the outcome of the game to be honest because I think we were knocking on the door for goals for quite a while. But yeah, it was a bit of luck, you need a bit of luck sometimes.”
The controversy reheated the debate on whether the GAA should consider introducing a VAR-style aid for referees.
However, Currie is firmly against the use of a video assistant referee in hurling or Gaelic football.
“I wouldn’t want to see it in, I know it obviously suited me there at the weekend but it’s definitely not something I’d want to see,” states the Na Fianna player.
“I don’t think it would work in GAA. We don’t want to slow the game down. Mistakes can happen, whether it’s on the goal-line or out the pitch, mistakes will always happen.
“I think it’s hard for referees and umpires to make that split-second decision but I’d rather they make the decision on the pitch than slowing the game down and getting video assistance involved.
“There are so many contentious moments in a game where you could argue if you slow things down, things can always look worse than they are. But I think the referees do a really good job at intercounty level. Mistakes will always happen, but they really keep them to a minimum.”
One of the other talking points emerging from last Saturday’s game in Parnell Park was the condition of the pitch. Dublin GAA are currently investigating why large patches of the grass appeared to have died, scarring the pitch. They have not ruled out vandalism and the possibility chemicals were sprayed on the pitch.
Wednesday night’s Leinster under-20 football final between Meath and Louth had been fixed for Parnell Park but has now been switched to St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge as a result of the damage to the pitch in Donnycarney.
However, Currie says it had no impact on Saturday’s game between Dublin and Wexford.
“To be honest we didn’t really notice it. I know the grass was a bit dead in the middle of the pitch. It probably looked worse than it actually was, we didn’t really notice much on the pitch.
“It played fine. I think you saw the standard of the game was really high, I don’t think the pitch affected that.”
