'I think we performed as well as any of the players on Sunday'

All-Ireland final referee David Gough was not bothered by the boos at the final whistle and the proud Meathman savoured the big occasion with his family helping make the big calls between Dublin and Kerry

David Gough was relaxing on Monday afternoon 24 hours after taking charge of the All-Ireland SFC final the previous day between Kerry and Dublin - and with good reason. Taking charge of an All-Ireland final is, he says, a “draining” and “hugely taxing” assignment - both mentally and physically. Concentration has to be total.

The Slaneman added he wasn’t bothered by the boos that rang out when he stood on the pitch while up on the podium GAA President Larry McCarthy thanked him for his contribution to Gaelic football's biggest day of the year. When the TV cameras focused on Gough, and the boos were heard, he smiled and waved his hand.

“It didn't bother me in the slightest, I don't know where it came from but it's not the first time it happened,” he told the Meath Chronicle.

“I seen it happen earlier on in the year when Liam Devenney refereed the Div 2 final (when Dublin defeated Derry). I was on the line and the Dubs did the same even then though Liam had a great game that day. It's just a small section of fans who really don't understand the rules or how difficult it is. I think we performed as well as any of the players performed yesterday,” he said.

While there was some online criticism of Gough, pundits such as Joe Brolly and Mickey Harte had fulsome praise for Gough's performance. “It's nice to know that people who are in the game and know what it's like, appreciate what we did,” he added.

There was some criticism at Gough’s appointment because he lives and works as a teacher in Dublin but he rejects any such suggestion that reality should affect his impartiality.

“I may live and work in Dublin but so does quarter of the country, it's not unusual for that to happen. I'm a Meathman, that's just it. It was the Meath crest that was on our gear going to Croke Park yesterday. The Co Board were fantastic in providing gear for us, they are a huge support for us and it's great that we can go out and perform as Meathmen.”

Gough, as usual, was backed up on the big day by his umpiring team which includes close members of his family. “They were all there, dad (Eugene) my brother (Stephen), my uncle (Terry), my cousin (Dean) they were all in their Meath gear as well. Anyone who says we live and work in Dublin are clutching at straws because they know players on the field know that David Gough is from Meath and that they are not going to get anything but fair treatment.”

The Slane official was criticised again online by some Kerry supporters for changing his mind after initially giving a free to David Clifford and against his marker Michael Fitzsimons. It was most controversial moment of the game. “Dad and Dean were the ones who made the call to overturn the decision. They were very clear ‘David you got that wrong you need to come to speak to us' they said to me, ‘there was a foul before that on Michael Fitzsimons.’ When we got the information we made the right decision, it's crucial to have those lads with you all the time.

“I have given them free rein, and always have, to give me the information I need to make the correct decision. I don't care how we get the information, once we make the right decision. It was an important one but we got it right and we got it right because we took all the information in and made the right decision, that's the most important thing.”

One of the precious moments Gough will always remember from Sunday was sitting down in the dressingroom after all the drama was over with members of his family, away from the crowd. “It was just wonderful to be there with them but from my time on the pitch I will always remember when the final whistle went it was my first time experiencing a team winning on the field.

“In 2019 (when he took charge of his first senior All-Ireland also between Dublin and Kerry) it was a draw and it was a very flat atmosphere at the full-time whistle. This time it was magnificent to be standing in the middle of the field to watch the celebrations and hear that sound of euphoria. It's very strange being in the centre of the pitch, the noise is incredible, it's coming from everywhere.”

When the Meath Chronicle spoke to the match official he had already looked back on the first half of the All-Ireland final. He normally does that after a game to analyse his own and his team's performance.

"I will sit down and look back at how we performed. I'm 35 minutes now and I still can't tell you who is playing well because I'm watching myself. I would have to watch it a second time to watch the actual match rather than watching what I'm at. It's a funny way but you go back and watch how you yourself performed and not the actual match."

Gough is going on holidays this week. The break, he says, is badly needed. “You have to be totally, emotionally uninvolved. When you are out there you have a job to do and you are focused for 80 minutes because that's what it takes to get the game safely over the line and it is completely draining on you, as much physically as mentally, particularly the last seven or eight minutes when the game is so close to finishing.

“You don't want to make a key decision incorrectly that would cost someone a Sam Maguire, it's hugely taxing on the system. It's a massive build up, 10 days of a build up, then you are wrecked for two or three days after the game itself,” he added. “I'm very happy overall with how things went yesterday.”