John Cleary was unhappy with how the hooter rule played out in Cork’s Allianz Football League Division 2 final defeat to Meath.

While admitting that the better team won, Cleary questioned why his side weren’t afforded one last chance after Maurice Shanley was fouled late on.

“I’ve said it previously that the play should play out like, you know what I mean?” the Cork manager told reporters in Croke Park. 

"We got a free when Maurice Shanley was tripped right at the end. And to me, I thought that was a 50-metre penalty, but maybe I’m wrong.

“That was my reading of the rules in the last play, you know, and he gave the Meath player (James Conlon) a black card. And yet the free was there in our side of the pitch with 25 seconds left, you know, so that definitely is an advantage for the winning team.

“Like, what else would you do? Then only keep fouling, keep fouling. And that’s what’s going on. If you’re a point up with 40 seconds left, you’re going to keep fouling, fouling, because to me, after we got the free, it should have been brought up 50 metres, why it wasn’t, I don’t know.”

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