Enda McGinley felt Monaghan had good reason to feel aggrieved by some refereeing decisions in their defeat to Mayo in the All-Ireland football qualifiers on Saturday.
Following the four-point win for Mayo, Monaghan manager Banty McEnenaney said he thought his side had been "robbed" by referee Barry Cassidy's decision to not award a penalty for a foul on Conor Leonard by Lee Keegan in injury time. Monaghan trailed Mayo by three points at that stage.
"Watching this in real time, I thought it looked dubious," McGinley, an All-Ireland winner with Tyrone who recently managed Antrim, said on The Sunday Game.
"It was a wrap tackle by Lee Keegan, and my personal thing was that the forward should have taken another one or two strong steps. Actually, with the benefit of the replay, he got his heels clipped, so he couldn't take another step or two. He fell to ground because he got tripped. That last one, looking at the replay, was a nailed on penalty."
McGinley on Monaghan penalty shouts vs Mayo
Enda McGinley says Monaghan were denied a "nailed on" penalty late in the second half against Mayo as they were eliminated in Castlebar #RTEGAA #sundaygame pic.twitter.com/2hGwIfFCjw
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 5, 2022
In the first half, Cillian O'Connor converted a penalty for Mayo following a foot-block on Oisin Mullin. Monaghan had calls for a penalty, also for a foot-block, turned down during the second half.
"The famous old critique about the lack of clarity in terms of the GAA rule book with the likes of the foot-block," said McGinley.
"Rarely do you get two examples in one game. The rule book just states about blocking the ball with your foot. It says nothing of distance, nothing of danger.
"I think everybody understands the concept that it's to avoid a legbreaking scenario where you're leading with the foot as a player is kicking the ball. So the distance does come into it. Bottom line, if you go to block, or attempt to block a ball, arguably, by the letter of the law, Monaghan can feel aggrieved."
Former Dublin footballer Ciaran Whelan thought Cassidy got both foot-block decisions right.
"[The Mayo] one is very different in that it's foot to foot, and there's a risk of possible injury, and certainly the referee Barry Cassidy got that call right.
"[The Monaghan] one, there's more distance. It's common sense in terms of the rule. You can put your body out - there's no danger at play. Again, the correct decision."
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