National Referees' Committee chairman Pat McEnaney has defended Michael Duffy's appointment as referee for Saturday's All-Ireland football qualifier between Longford and Derry.

The Sligo official will take charge of the Glennon Brothers Pearse Park clash, despite coming in for stinging criticism for his handling of last Sunday's Ulster SFC semi-final when he enraged Down by allowing Monaghan substitute Tommy Freeman's controversial 57th minute goal to stand, despite beckoning a Down defender towards him.

On The Sunday Game, Joe Brolly even went as far as saying Duffy should be dropped from this year's panel of championship referees for his high-profile blunder.

But speaking to The Irish News, McEnaney said: "Michael Duffy was appointed for this weekend's game before 'The Sunday Game' was even aired. He was appointed the day after the qualifier draw.

"As far as I am concerned, I am managing a team. Like James McCartan managed Down last Sunday, he had three or four players who didn't perform. Does he drop those three or four players for the Ulster final? No, he doesn't.

"If some boy isn't performing over a period of three or four games, then he drops him. The very same principles apply to referees. Referees are no different from players. The very top referees nearly always produce the goods. We have Joe McQuillan and David Coldrick who nearly always produce.

"Michael Duffy had just come off a good game in the first round of the Leinster championship. If a referee has a bad performance, we will not judge him on one poor day. If he has two or three poor games, then you have to have a look at it." Tweet

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