Saturday’s Ulster SFC quarter-final was already slipping beyond Antrim’s reach when Jerome Henry issued Antrim’s Mick McCann with a second yellow card as Cavan eased past the Saffrons with 13 points to spare at Corrigan Park.
The home side played with the advantage of a strong wind in the first half, but found themselves behind at the break, 0-7 to 0-6 after failing to score for the first 23 minutes.
Cavan upped the ante in the second half, led by the brilliant Paddy Lynch in attack, and pulled clear in the third quarter.
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Antrim were 0-8 to 0-12 in arrears when McCann made a high challenge on the Cavan full-forward.
Lynch went to ground and Mayo’s Jerome Henry swiftly pulled out a yellow card followed by a red, much to the bemusement of McCann. To add insult to injury, Henry moved the free forward for dissent with Lynch converting the free himself.
After the game, BBC’s Championship pundits were split on whether or not McCann deserved a second booking with Oisin McConville claiming it was a harsh call.
“I can see why the ref sent him off, but I thought it was harsh,” stated McConville.
“I thought Mick McCann probably had no reason to go in the way he did. I think when you look at it on second viewing, it really is harsh.
“If you put that up against the referee’s committee, they’ll say he is right all day long because it is high and they’ll see it as slightly dangerous. I thought it was very harsh.”
However, that view wasn’t shared by former Tyrone boss and current Louth senior football manager Mickey Harte.
When presenter Mark Sidebottom asked Harte if he’d be annoyed at a Louth player picking up a second yellow for a similar offence, Harte replied: “He mightn’t be on to get his second yellow.
“You just can’t afford to do that in the modern game. You can’t take chances - I think that was a chance he took.
“Whether he gives a yellow card or not, it was a high-risk tackle. You can’t be doing that in the modern game, it is too critical. A man down, teams are smarter now and they use the spare man very well.”
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