Ciaran Whelan has branded Ian Maguire's second yellow card against Dublin as 'appalling'.

Spectators at Páirc Uí Chaoimh were left baffled after the Cork midfielder was dismissed for a slight tug of Dean Rock's jersey. He was soon joined on the sidelined by Dublin's Lee Gannon after he was also booked for a second time.

"For the second one (Gannon sending off), we reckoned the ref was going to level it up. I think Lee Gannon lays off the ball, he expects Sean Powter to come in and he was just standing his ground," former Dublin midfielder Whelan said on RTÉ's Allianz League Sunday.

"But the Ian Maguire red card was an appalling decision. The ref can say it's three personal fouls. But both sendings off were very, very soft."

Meanwhile, former Cork captain and Sunday Game analyst Tony Davis has described the dismissals as "two of the softest red cards I have seen".

Great game Cork V Dublin. Two of the softest red cards I have seen. If this standard of censorship was used in a good championship game you would have nobody left on field.

— Tony Davis (@allireland1) February 19, 2023

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