Seán Cavanagh broke his silence last night on his controversial dismissal in Saturday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final defeat to Mayo. The Tyrone captain called for a greater role for umpires and linesmen in calling the referee’s attention to the targeting of attackers.

Cavanagh and Dublin’s Diarmuid Connolly, two of the game’s marquee forwards, were both sent off in their respective quarter-final ties at Croke Park, prompting renewed calls for action to address the alleged targeting of key players.

Cavanagh was booked just before the beginning of the second half, and received a second yellow in the 15th minute.

“Sometimes in these big games, in my opinion, linesmen and umpires just don’t take those calls as much as they should do,” he said.

Cavanagh revealed that he had been appealing to match officials over constant infringements each time he tried to make a play.

“I had brought it to the attention to a few of the linesmen and umpires that any time you were trying to make a run, the run was being checked and you were being pulled and dragged,” he said.

“It does become frustrating at times, because I was trying to make the point that 90 per cent of the time it’s not the forward who wants to drag a defender. It’s the other way around.

“It was difficult then to try and get on the ball and try and get the space to have an impact on the game. That was frustrating.

“But that wasn’t just unique for Saturday. It has been happening for a long time in our game, and in my opinion it’s probably something that needs to be stamped out of the game.”