Pádraic Joyce has no issue with Sean Hurson’s appointment as referee for the All-Ireland football final - despite the Tyrone whistler hailing from the same club as Kerry coach Paddy Tally.
Tally and Hurson - who will referee his first All-Ireland final - are both from the Galbally Pearse's club.
Former Down boss, Tyrone All-Ireland winning trainer (2003) and Galway coach (2018), Tally was drafted into the Kerry backroom team by Jack O’Connor after his appointment for a third term as Kingdom boss, late last year.
Read more: Sean Hurson to referee 2022 All-Ireland senior football final
Double All-Ireland winner Joyce said: “That has been brought up this morning (Wednesday) with me – I got texts, texts galore about that. But I’d known that, and I knew he was in line for the final.
“Look it, Seán is a top-class referee. I’m not going to question anything that Seán Hurson’s going to do on the day.
“He’s going to do his job and look it, he’s a man of integrity. Whether he’s friendly with Paddy Tally or not doesn’t matter.”
The former Ireland International Rules skipper continued: “Brendan Cawley refereed the (Derry) game the last day and he’s from the same town as Cian O’Neill, you could say, even though rival clubs.
“No one mentioned that. It shouldn’t be an issue, to be honest. And in fairness to the GAA, if they were trying to pick referees that had no relationships with teams or selectors or whatever, they’d find it hard.”
Joyce’s Galway were refereed by Hurson in their four goal Division 2 win over Derry earlier this year and in the Connacht final.
“I think he was a fourth official that day (against Derry)," he continued. "The referee at the time, Noel Mooney, couldn’t do the game. He pulled a hamstring in the warm-up or something.
“So, Seán took over. We had Seán here in the Connacht final (against Roscommon), where Seán Kelly got pulled down.
“I’d a few words that day with him about it but again, I know there’s a bit of talk about Seán and all that kind of stuff.
“But to me I think it’s a great honour for him – a great honour for anyone to be in an All-Ireland final – so he’ll be fine.
“There’s no issue with referees for us. I always say that we can control everything as much as we can, bar the weather and the referee.
“So, it shouldn’t come down to a refereeing decision in the match anyway.”
Meanwhile, Joyce says that while he is worried about Hawk-Eye after the score detection technology disallowed Shane Walsh’s 45 in last weekend’s All-Ireland semi-win over Derry, he will leave it to the GAA.
The point was given after half-time and the company are currently conducting a series of tests.
It is unclear if Hawk-Eye will be used in next Sunday’s Kilkenny/Limerick All-Ireland hurling final.
“You don’t mind a marginal call that’s over the top of the post,” said Joyce.
“You wouldn’t worry about it - but one that’s a foot inside it. It was clear that last day that (Walsh 45) was inside it and you just wonder what’s going on with that. Again, that’s something for Croke Park to worry about.”
Joyce continued: “You couldn’t trust it after Saturday, what happened with Shane Walsh’s 45.
“I don’t know. In fairness, let’s put it in perspective - that’s the first real mistake it’s made and how many years is it on the go.
“There is something going wrong currently. It just needs to be tweaked a bit.”
Joyce denied that Galway had refused to come out after half-time unless the Walsh 45 was given, although a county official said it on Galway Bay FM.
“I spoke to our secretary going in at half-time and said, ‘Look, that point’s after going over the bar,’ he said.
“I said, 'Go on and ask the question. Should it be a point?’ And they did, but there was never a debate.
“There was a headline that we weren’t coming out. We were never not coming out. That was never an issue whatsoever.
“We knew probably halfway during our half-time speech that the point was given and it was rectified - there was never an issue.”
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