Richie Hogan has said there was “absolutely no way” he should have been sent off in the All-Ireland hurling final.
The Kilkenny star said he was “amazed” at the decision of referee James Owens to brandish a red card just before half-time and rejected suggestions that he elbowed Tipperary’s Cathal Barrett.
There was a point between the sides when Hogan was dismissed though Tipperary went on to win by 14.
He said: “In my opinion, there was absolutely no way it was a sending-off.
“It was clear as day to anyone at the match, what I was trying to do.
“The first thing I thought was to get back and get after the ball, then when I turned around and saw him on the ground I thought, ‘It's a free’.
"I was complaining about getting a yellow card, because it was one of those clearly accidental, honest challenges.
"I just assumed that he had taken the wrong card, to be honest with you,” he told Newstalk’s Off The Ball.
Hogan said that he wouldn’t be “be pointing any blame at James Owens, Cathal Barrett or anyone” but insisted that he did not elbow the Tipp man.
He continued: "They spoke about your arm not being down by your side. This is not Irish dancing.
“We have hurleys in our hands, how do we hold a 36-inch hurley without bending your arm?
“For me, any talk of an elbow was crazy. I couldn't believe that lads were mentioning elbows.
“I went in with the shoulder, he slipped me and I could actually feel the contact coming off as he was swinging around.
"I didn't expect him to be down, but when I looked around and saw him down then I thought 'Ok, it's a free', turned around and went to get up the field to defend it.
"It was as obvious as day that I went into an honest challenge to shoulder him over the line and he cut back in.
"Was there contact? There absolutely was contact. But it was a completely honest challenge."
Hogan made contact with the station as he didn’t want “All-Ireland final to be ruined by controversy over a particular incident” and said he will never speak about it again.
"We'll just get up and get on with it, and wish Tipperary well. The next week and couple of months should be about Tipperary."
The injury-ravaged 31-year-old said that he is reluctant to retire on the back of the red card, adding: “I think I owe it to myself to do whatever I can to play again.”
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