ALL-IRELAND CHAMPIONS LIMERICK beat Galway in Division 1A of the Allianz Hurling League last weekend. John Kiely's Limerick side won 24-19 on the day, but the game was soured by an incident near fulltime.
Limerick wing-back Kyle Hayes was already on a yellow card in the second half when he swiped his hurl back off the ball and connected with the helmet of Galway's Brian Concannon.
Referee Sean Stack didn't give Hayes a second yellow for the action at the time and to rub salt into the wounds Hayes helped Limerick see out the game.
Fans watching the game did not understand how Stack didn't send off the Kildimo-Pallaskenry player and those feelings were expressed on social media.
"Petulant and dangerous strike to the face, this thuggery has no place in hurling. Amazing how the linesman 5m away didn’t see it Hopefully Kyle Hayes will be dealt with appropriately by the CCC!",said one Twitter user.
While another said, "Madness - needs to be called out. This is not what our game is about. It we tolerate this we lose control of the best game in the world. The standard of refereeing must improve."
Ah here, Kyle Hayes needs to calm it down. This game got a bit wild near the end but teams will exploit his temper come championship.
Too much at stake to be losing the head like this, easy to talk from the sidelines of course. pic.twitter.com/zdUBLfiAae— hurlaway (@CraicOfTheAsh) February 26, 2023
Limerick manager Kiely was asked about the incident and admitted that he would have to watch it back.
"I saw it from whatever width the pitch is, 85 or 90 metres. Kyle’s back was to me, all I could see was him going like that (motions his arm backwards) and he was looking out at the terrace," said Kiely
"I don’t know. There is a context as well. I’ve no doubt there was contact there, but what was the context? How did it come about? We’ll have to wait and see."
He was also invited by TG4 to watch it back at the time in Pearse Park, but he declined the invitation.
"I'll have plenty of time to watch it during the week, don't worry," he added.
Limerick's next game in the league will be against Westmeath on Sunday, March 12.
