Monaghan boss Malachy O'Rourke has branded the black card Darren Hughes received against Carlow as 'crazy'.

The Scotstown midfielder was dismissed in first half injury-time for alleged verbal abuse of a linesman as the Farneymen stuttered to a five-point victory at Netwatch Cullen Park on Saturday evening.

"First of all, I didn't think the ball was over the sideline. Secondly, from what I can gather, Darren got sent off for using abusive language," O'Rourke told the Irish Daily Star.

"In the middle of a game, in the white heat of a championship match, when things are at their height, do you expect every player on the field to use lovely language and to excuse themselves for doing something?

"I don't know, maybe I'm talking in the heat of the moment, but I thought it was a crazy decision to punish someone like that for doing something like that there and to make him miss the rest of the match.

"I suppose some would say, 'that's the rules', but I thought it was a very harsh decision."

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