It was a reckless challenge and he probably deserved to go. There was however enough leeway for the ref to issue only a yellow. A conspiracy theorist would link the colour of the card to the lack of a keeper on the bench.
I don't believe in the conspiracy myself. Its the incredibly poor standard of reffin, for all teams. In saying that we seem to fall victim to it when it most matters - if anyone would like to dig up footage of our first FAI cup final, or our last - just as examples.
The fai keep going on about how they're leading the way with licensing. Its about time they started leading the way with referees [preferably toward the door for most of our current crop ] and making them more accountable for their decisions would be a first step.
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