Finn Harps boss Kevin McHugh urges crackdown on players ‘buying’ cautions

Finn Harps manager Kevin McHugh has called for stronger action against players attempting to “buy” yellow cards - warning that simulation is becoming an increasing issue in the League of Ireland.

McHugh said he has noticed a growing trend of players going to ground too easily in an effort to win free-kicks and draw cautions for opponents.

The Harps boss was speaking after his side held League leaders Cork City to a scoreless draw at Finn Park on Friday night.

“I don’t want to see it growing into the game in this league, a lot of people throwing themselves to the ground,” the Killea native said. “I’ve seen it now with a lot of teams.”

McHugh was particularly critical of such behaviour in recent matches, suggesting it is being used as a tactic to influence refereeing decisions.

He said: “Cork were trying to buy yellow cards all over the place and the only way of dealing with that is give yellow cards for simulation and it stops that. 

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“I’ve seen it here now and I've seen it away from home, people just throwing themselves to the ground and getting the free kicks, but to be fair, the referees over the last couple of weeks have been very good and very strong."