Aidan O'Shea was shown a black card in the first half of Mayo's All-Ireland quarter-final clash with Kerry on Sunday evening.
Fans were confused by the decision as it looked harsh given that both him and David Clifford were pulling out of each other.
One tweeted: "That Aidan O'Shea black card is a balls, Kerry man went to grab him, O'Shea was stronger and ended up on the ground. You'd have to wonder at what the linesman was thinking."
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But RTE's Joanne Cantwell explained at half time that O'Shea apparently received the card under the 5.1.4 rule which is for "words, deeds and actions to an opponent".
Reacting to the decision, former Mayo player and Irish Mirror columnist Colm Boyle said: "We thought initially it might have been for a drag down but we thought there were two people involved and Clifford might have been as guilty as Aidan O'Shea on it.
"But if you're giving black cards for abusive language to an opponent, you're going to be giving out a lot of black cards in a game so I think it's slightly harsh if that is the reason for it."
Pat Spillane added: "Initially when I saw it, I thought there was two fellas grappling and I thought there has to be two black cards. It's a harsh black card."
O'Shea returned to the field shortly after the second half started but was substituted off in the 64th minute.
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