Patrick Horgan: Need for video refereeing highlighted by O'Flynn-Leen incident
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Patrick Horgan feels the decision not to award Robbie O’Flynn a free in extra-time underlines the need for a version of video refereeing in major hurling games.
Conor Leen’s jersey pull on Cork substitute O’Flynn in extra-time was not picked up by referee Johnny Murphy and O’Flynn’s shot went wide as Clare hung on to claim victory in last month’s All-Ireland final.
Horgan, who admitted the call was hard for Cork to take, is acutely aware that the speed of hurling and its “on-the-edge” nature can’t be impacted by reviews. However, he pointed out that “it takes long enough for HawkEye” to determine the validity of a scoring attempt.
“If one decision has to be given then they all have to be given but something that’s going to decide the year (should be reviewed),” he said on William Hill’s podcast.
“The year’s over, there’s no more hurling after that.”
Horgan fully believes Murphy would have awarded Cork a free in had he seen the foul and doesn’t hold him responsible.
“I’m not going to blame anyone. We lost the game and Clare obviously deserved to win but the last one you kind of look at it and say, ‘Well, he (O’Flynn) did get pulled.’ We would say he got pulled.”
Horgan revealed he did ask Murphy about the incident.
“There was no aggression or anything like that. I just asked him, ‘Did you not see that?’ and he just didn’t and he didn’t, he obviously didn’t.
“It’s an easy one to give but he didn’t see it and sometimes that’s the way it kind of goes sometimes and there’s a lot of other decisions in the game but that one alone kind of finishes the game.”
Horgan otherwise feels hurling should be left untouched.
“There’s not much else wrong with it. The game is perfect – it’s the best game in the world, I think, so outside of one or two things…”
Co-presenter and Monaghan footballer Conor McManus supported Horgan’s call for video reviews.
“I think it has to be looked at. When you’re in Croke Park and everybody’s watching this game on TV, everybody in the country can see there was a pulled jersey and it’s a tap-over free and this should be a replay but people in the ground or the referee or the umpires or the linesmen can’t use technology to say, ‘Well, hold on, we’ll take a look at this, do the thing right.’ Take the free, replay.
“For such a big game, for those two groups of teams particularly the Cork boys because they got beat in it, for their year to be decided by something like that when everyone knows it’s a free, I think we have the technology.”
Horgan, who has confirmed he will be available again in 2025, also disclosed he recorded his highest speed in 12 years the week before the All-Ireland final early in the session that he pulled his hamstring.
“The more I go after those things, the more I feel like I have time on the ball.”
The full interview with Patrick Horgan can be viewed here.
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