All-Ireland football final replay referee Maurice Deegan has revealed his deep regret about not dismissing Dublin defender John Small early in the game.

Wing-back Small hauled down Mayo attacker Andy Moran with a hand trip, a clear black card offence that surprisingly went unpunished. Deegan did award a free-kick to Mayo that Cillian O'Connor converted although victors Dublin were hugely fortunate not to lose an influential player who'd been Man of the Match in the drawn final.

“From where I was standing, I couldn’t really see it properly,” said Deegan of the incident. “We’re wired up and all that type of thing. I went into the linesman and he didn’t see it properly. And I even asked him again after that. We weren’t a hundred per cent sure.

"And if I had anything from that match, that's the main regret, that I didn't black card Johnny Small. I'm just being perfectly honest now. Because if I had black carded him at the time, it probably would have set a better tone to the game.

“I was very disappointed with myself that I missed that. Apart from that, I was happy enough. That’s being honest.”