Peter Canavan says referee Brendan Cawley was correct to penalise Donegal’s Ciaran Thompson for touching the ball on the ground in the closing stages last Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC semi-final.

Donegal manager Jim McGuinness was seen remonstrating with linesman David Coldrick over the decision which led to Robert Finnerty restoring Galway’s lead from the resultant free before Liam Silke added a late insurance point.

"I've spoken to a few refs since and they say the ref was dead right here," Canavan revealed on The Sunday Game.

"The Donegal players were so angry saying that he didn't touch it on the ground and the rule is if the ball touches the ground, it's a free.

"It was the correct call and the exact same thing happened to Paul Murphy (Kerry) on Saturday at a crucial stage where he had the ball, he slipped, and the ball touched the ground.

"Even though it was still in possession, and David Gough was quick to give a scoreable free-in to Armagh. It was the same there. As frustrating as it was.

"The rule also, if you have possession of the ball, you're tackled and the ball goes to the ground, if you're still in possession, you can play it on the ground, yet when you're in possession, you can't touch it like that there so it's frustrating but Brendan Cawley got it right."

Tweet

Most Read Stories