Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney critical of refereeing performance in Mayo defeat
"When you're infallible, you never learn from your mistakes," says Armagh manager
Saturday 29 June 2019 22:50, UK
Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney spoke of his frustrations with referee Maurice Deegan's performance after the Orchard County's loss to Mayo on Saturday night.
"When you're infallible, you never learn from your mistakes," he sighed, when asked about the refereeing. "That's probably the best way I can put it.
"All I can say is the fellas did everything that could be asked of them. I think they put their heart and soul into it, they play a lovely brand of football, they really go at teams, but they don't get rewarded for it.
"We had four minutes of extra-time there, with maybe 10 or 11 head injuries. That's nothing to do with Mayo or James [Horan], that's not his call. That's the man in the middle.
"There were more stoppages in that game. But listen, you can't take away from Mayo. They lost Lee Keegan, one of the best players in the country. They were still able to push on."
When questioned if he could air his frustrations to top brass at a later date, the 2002 All-Ireland winning captain opined that no such avenues exist.
"That's not the way it works," he lamented. "Thankfully there's a change with the top referees, and hopefully someone will come in and start making it a two-way conversation.
"Most of the referees out there are really good people. I've talked to a few of them, they really want to move things on. Some, we'll probably never be best friends."
Nonetheless, he was eager to give credit to both sets of players, after what was a pulsating contest in Castlebar that went right down to the wire.
"It's gutting," he added. "We fully expected to put in a performance, and we thought it was well within our capabilities of getting a victory. It just seemed to escape us at the end. Time just ran out.
"It was a good, even contest, we had the goal chances and we didn't put them away, they had one [in the second half] and they got it."
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