Westside - Standard of refereeing has improved but some issues need to be resolved

Last week the GAA released its list of referees for the upcoming championship season. 

Football, the more widely played game, has 18 names including Ardfinnan’s Derek O’Mahoney; hurling, the minority game, has a panel of 14 including a Tipperary pair, Fergal Horgan and Johnny Ryan.

These are the men who’ll police our top games throughout the summer. They’ll be graded by assessors, have their performances forensically dissected by pundits in print and electronic media and, no doubt, pilloried by major sections of the fan base. Inevitably we can expect our quota of controversies to emerge.

Who’d be a referee, indeed? Not I is the short answer, though these men seem to love the buzz of involvement and no doubt there’s job satisfaction when things go well. 

Johnny Ryan’s return to the panel after a year’s absence is noteworthy. In previous years he went from the cusp of All-Ireland appointment to relegation from the select group. He didn’t throw a tantrum but kept the faith and worked his way back for a well-deserved recall.

Anyway the publishing of the 2019 panels (they still have to pass fitness tests) is an opportune time for some reflection on referees and refereeing in these final weeks of calm before the championship storm erupts.  

I’ll begin with a pet hate of mine – the quick puck-out. It’s not such an issue with the inter-county game but at club level it’s a major irritant. 

By rule, players must be outside the 20 metre line and the referee must blow his whistle before play recommences. Otherwise the quick puck-out is illegal.

Typically what often happens in club games is that the referee, all officious early on, brings back play after a few quick puck-outs, waving the whistle at the offending goalie. As the match progresses, however, the referee relents and by the end of the game quick puck-outs have become the norm. 

The fans play a part here but the fans are wrong. Until the rules change quick puck-outs are not allowed.

The advantage rule was introduced to hurling and football in recent years and overall its impact is positive. However there are issues around it, which need addressing. Firstly, if the player receiving advantage then commits a foul himself the free goes against him. That’s what the rule states, though regularly I see referees in breach of this stipulation.

Typically a player bearing down on goal is being dragged back and fouled but then proceeds to over-carry the ball. If advantage is being played for the original foul then the correct decision subsequently is a free out for the over-carrying. 

It should be noted also that if a player receiving advantage is fouled a second time then the correct decision is to award the free for the second offence, and not call back play for the original infringement. 

 One of the biggest abuses, in club games especially, is the rule on blood subs. Originally this rule was introduced on health and safety grounds, where open wounds needed to be bandaged to staunch the blood flow and avoid infection. There was also the optics, where a blood-spattered player was unsightly and needed to be cleaned up.

The rule, however, is flawed because there is no time specification. A blood sub can come on in the first minute of a game and remain on for the duration without being counted as one of the five replacements. 

Furthermore a junior player, for example, can come on in a senior championship game as a blood sub and his status won’t change; he could play junior championship the following day. It’s a crazy rule.

Worse still, clubs abuse this rule in other ways. Last year I watched a county championship game in which a player received a blow where it really hurts. Every man present felt his pain. 

He was replaced by a player from the club’s junior team until he returned to action some time later. There was no blood involved in the injury. 

Yet, it seems, the replacement in that case came on as a blood sub because he subsequently played in the junior championship.

 I have no desire to identify either the individual player or the club involved, but simply to use it as an example of the type of abuse that is happening regularly at club level. Incidentally the match officials in that case should not have accepted a blood sub docket. It’s an abuse of the system and it’s going unpunished.

handpassing and the steps rules are contentious issues

I’m already running out of column space and I haven’t even mentioned the hand-passing and steps rules, which are major items of controversy. I’ve covered hand-passing before, of course, so I won’t dwell too much on it here. It has become an epidemic in the game. 

Strict enforcement, which demands a very clear striking action, is called for but there appears to be no stomach for tackling the problem after a half-hearted effort was made during the recent league.

Likewise the steps rule is much more honoured in the breach than the observance. Four steps is the allowance but you’d need to take at least double that before being penalised by most referees. Again there has been no determined effort to eradicate this malaise.

The public and some pundits carry a heavy responsibility for one area of refereeing that has become pervasive at club and county levels. The battle cry “let the game flow” is the curse of modern day hurling. Loosely translated, it means ignore the rules. 

As a consequence, teams have developed a particular style of play which suits this modern dispensation. Physicality levels have soared, with players now bulkier and fitter so the swarm tackle is de rigueur. Opponents will be encircled and tugged and dragged to avoid escape. Donal Og Cusack refers to the cancer of the free hand and the damage it’s doing.

the ruck and throw-in are two of hurling's most unsightly aspects

All the while the referee panders to the mob and their cry to let the game run. Eventually the player in possession is either penalised for over-carrying or he has to drop the ball and a ruck develops where opponents outnumber colleagues. Incidentally the ruck and the throw-in which sometimes follows are two of the most unsightly aspects of modern hurling.

Allied to this “let the game flow” slogan is its sister war cry: “use common sense”. I’m tempted to suggest that some referees don’t have much, but either way it’s usually an excuse for putting your own interpretation on rules – and that’s not a referee’s job. He’s there to enforce the rules – whether he considers them sensible or not is irrelevant.

I canvassed the views of a number of respected people on this topic ahead of writing the column and I’m grateful for their knowledge and insights. 

One of them highlighted the positives such as the success of the advantage rule and the one-on-one penalty. He also suggested that refereeing standards have improved over the years. It set me thinking and on reflection I think he’s right. Refereeing standards are better than in the past, even if critical issues still remain.

Anyway I’m told that head-high tackles (mandatory red card) and encroachment by mentors onto the pitch are two areas that will be specifically targeted in the upcoming championships. Remember where you heard it first.

Finally I’m delighted to recommend to readers an upcoming fundraising event in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation. 

Toomevara’s James McGrath, along with his brother Brian and camogie star Eimear McDonnell, will take part in a 600kms cycle in Spain on June 23. As part of the venture they’re holding a hurling championship preview night in the Ormond Hotel, Nenagh, on Friday May 10. 

Journalist Shane Stapleton will be MC alongside guest speakers Derek McGrath, Eoin Kelly, Damien Hayes and Ciaran Carey. Raffle prizes include a coaching session for an underage team of your choice with Kilkenny All Star goalie, Eoin Murphy, as well as two stand tickets for this year’s Munster hurling final. €10 admission tickets are available on Eventbrite or direct from James McGrath on 087-9230909. It’s a worthy cause and an attractive line-up.