{"id":546573,"date":"2026-07-12T23:38:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T23:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/546573\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T23:38:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T23:38:06","slug":"ger-brennan-pleads-vars-case-after-semi-final-defeat-to-kerry-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/546573\/","title":{"rendered":"Ger Brennan pleads VAR\u2019s case after semi-final defeat to Kerry \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ger Brennan<\/a> wasted absolutely no time in telling it exactly as he saw it on why Dublin<\/a> fell short of reaching the All-Ireland football final<\/a>. In their latest showdown against Kerry on GAA\u2019s centre court, three key decisions went against them. In the end, those decisions decided everything \u2013 game, set and match. <\/p>\n

There was some wayward shooting too, Brennan admitted, but had any sort of video-assisted technology been in operation, the Dublin manager was adamant things could, or should, have been different.<\/p>\n

\u201cApplication of rules, and our shooting boots, they\u2019re the two key areas where we fell short,\u201d said Brennan, calm at first. \u201cI would feel very strongly that for both sets of players today, and other intercounty players \u2013 even hurling as well \u2013 some of the games, that video-assisted technology has to come into play for key decisions. <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause there were obviously three key decisions that didn\u2019t go our way today. I feel strongly on that, because I\u2019m trying to explain to our guys down in the dressingroom, who are out on their feet given the effort they put in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first of those decisions came just two minutes into the game, when Kerry were awarded a penalty after Peadar \u00d3 Cofaigh Byrne made a full-frontal challenge on Joe O\u2019Connor. Evan Comerford saved the initial shot from David Clifford but the Kerryman found the net from the rebound.<\/p>\n

Seven minutes into the second half, Kerry scored a second goal when Se\u00e1n O\u2019Brien palmed home a high ball sent in by Dylan Geaney. Brennan said it should have been a square ball. On 57 minutes, Ross McGarry\u2019s shot at goal was cleared off the line by Mike Breen, although the ball certainly went close to crossing that line.<\/p>\n

\"SeánSe\u00e1n O’Brien scores palms the ball down to score Kerry’s second goal. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo\/Inpho <\/p>\n

\u201cTo be fair to intercounty officials, the game is so fast, and certainly with Gaelic games and the new rules it\u2019s up and down,\u201d Brennan added. \u201cIf the officials had an opportunity to have just a quick look, take 30 seconds out, stop the clock, those decisions would have gone a different direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cCredit to Kerry, congratulations to them on their shooting. They just were a bit more accurate today. We\u2019d had the guts of 10 more shots that just didn\u2019t go over or go in. Kerry took their opportunities. So we had enough opportunities as well, despite some of the decisions that didn\u2019t go our way.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for the penalty, we teach our players and coach them how to tackle as the second man coming in, have your hands down on your side\u2026 Peader has his hands down by his side, and Peader takes the contact on the chest and then the penalty, so that was a poor decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you have a look at the second goal, and it was a square ball for Se\u00e1n O\u2019Brien. You can certainly chat about the penalty one all right, you can debate that. But certainly the second one was a square ball. It\u2019s not my opinion, that\u2019s just a fact.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then our goal, having had a chance to look back at the video footage there, it was a goal for us as well. So the referees need assistance because so much happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kerry'sKerry’s Shane Murphy celebrates after the final whistle. Photograph: James Crombie\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Kerry manager Jack O\u2019Connor was telling things exactly as he saw them too, and while admitting that luck had a part in their eventual victory, he didn\u2019t see any reason as to why the penalty against \u00d3 Cofaigh Byrne should not have been awarded. <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom where I was, it was a frontal tackle, and a frontal tackle is a free anywhere,\u201d said O\u2019Connor. \u201cWe certainly got a bit of luck at times, no question about it, and a bit of experience. That Dublin team have really come on. I thought our fellas were awful brave near the end, throwing bodies on the ball, and got a few scores on the break. But it took a bit of experience as well, and that comes with being here before.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor has now guided Kerry to 10 All-Ireland finals, the first of which was back in 2004. In two weeks\u2019 time, they\u2019ll meet Mayo after Andy Moran\u2019s side eased passed Louth in Saturday\u2019s semi-final.<\/p>\n

\u201cSemi-finals are about getting over the line, getting to a final,\u201d said O\u2019Connor. \u201cThere were times we lived on a knife edge. Dublin came with everything in the second half at times. A combination of brave defending and a bit of luck got us through in the end.<\/p>\n

\"PaudiePaudie Clifford kicks a point for Kerry during Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final. Photograph: James Crombie\/Inpho <\/p>\n

\u201cBut we\u2019ve a lot of improving to do. This has been a fair juggling act for us throughout the summer. Paudie (Clifford) has played with injury a lot of the year. <\/p>\n

\u201cJudging the two teams, Mayo were probably more impressive than we were this weekend. We\u2019ll have our hands full with that elusive forward line they have with those young lads, obviously they\u2019ve got a serious scoring threat. So we\u2019ve a lot of improving to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Brennan\u2019s rollercoaster of a season, the manner of the ending may leave a bitter aftertaste.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, luck shouldn\u2019t come into it. With some of these key decisions, there should be video assisted support there. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe introduced Hawk-Eye a number of years ago. There was debate around the consistency of how it would be applied across the grounds. Obviously three grounds have it now, everyone gets on with it, even though the same competitions might be played in grounds with no assistance that way. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo why do we not have referee-assisted technology? I think it\u2019s something that needs to change for next year. I think referees deserve it, I think players deserve it, because everyone is putting so much into it. These three decisions, luck would have been taken out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ger Brennan wasted absolutely no time in telling it exactly as he saw it on why Dublin fell…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":546574,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[6937,2179,110979,2181,61,60,180648,112],"class_list":["post-546573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-kerry-gaa","tag-dublin-gaa","tag-football-championship","tag-ger-brennan","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-jack-o-connor","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=546573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/546574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=546573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=546573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=546573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}