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The 42
3 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
Paying referees could be best way to improve quality of officiating
WE FOUND OURSELVES as referee of an U13 Gaelic football league game in Meath recently. It's a lottery most weeks whether an official ref is appointed, so when needs must a mentor who holds an Award 1 coaching credential can fill in. So it was that we were thrust into activity for Division 3 rough and tumble. The amount of incidents to adjudicate on, from lunging tackles, clean pick ups and dodgy hand-passes, to whether the requisite number of players were in either half of the pitch, to the scoring arc, to score-taking and substitutions, was head spinning. At one stage, while quickly checking on a player's welfare after a collision, an incident occurred out of our view which drew outrage among the visiting support behind the wire. We hadn't seen a bit of it. The linesman offered no input. We threw the ball up and restarted play. One half of the assembled parents lost their mind. Afterwards, we needed a lie down. Natasha Barton / INPHO Natasha Barton / INPHO / INPHO So we approach the issue of refereeing with nothing but admiration for those who do it week in, week out – particularly hurling refs. Approaching the half-way point of the hurling Championship, we've already torn through a squadron of them, highlighting their errors and inconsistencies. Michael Kennedy, for example, shouldn't have awarded Dublin their ghost goal against Wexford and Colm Lyons probably should have dished out at least one red card to a Galway player last weekend. Advertisement Waterford manager Peter Queally was critical too of Johnny Murphy in the Deise's loss to Cork last Sunday, saying they were 'very disappointed with a lot of' his decisions. In camogie, Tipperary were denied a place in the Munster final because Karen Kennedy's late goal, when the ball hit the net and flew back into play, wasn't given. The list goes on, prompting Dónal Óg Cusack to claim on The Sunday Game at the weekend that 'one of the biggest problems we have in the game is the standard of refereeing'. He too began from a starting point of acknowledging that refereeing can be a thankless task and that, without refs, there'd be no games. The former Cork goalkeeper suggested bringing in 'some sort of technology' to help. But refs would still have to make their own calls around hand-passing. Was it a throw or a perfectly executed pass with the most minimal of hand contact? It's nearly impossible to know. "One of the biggest problems that we have in the game is the standard of refereeing" Dónal Óg Cusack discusses what could be done to up the standard of officiating in hurling 📺 Watch #TheSundayGame live - — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 25, 2025 There is a clear move too in the game, particularly among the top teams, to leave as much as possible in the tackle. The hits are bigger and harder than ever before. Which only adds to the referee's decision-making workload. As ex-ref Brian Gavin put it in the Irish Examiner on Monday of this week, 'There could have been four red cards in Parnell Park' last weekend, instead of none. Adding a second referee is a possible solution. But there is a lack of match officials as it is, and would Lyons' decisions last weekend, for example, have been any different with a second ref in the other half of the pitch? Probably not. So what about an alternative solution – how about throwing money at the problem? How would refereeing at the very elite level look if they were being paid, say, €500 a game for their services? Fergal Horgan, who refereed the 2017 All-Ireland senior hurling final, noted in 2020 that 'a lot of people think referees are getting paid. We get absolutely nothing for refereeing above in Croke Park – only 50 cent a mile from Tipperary to Croke Park and home. €120 for the day, and we're gone at 10 in the morning and home at 10 at night'. With a clearly defined, attractive, match fee to aspire to, the amount of energetic, savvy young GAA members looking to get into refereeing would surely increase from a trickle to a steady stream. And, in time, with greater numbers would come greater quality. There is no inherent suggestion that the current panel of Championship referees aren't fully invested in what they do. It is a lifestyle choice for them as much as it is for players. But by increasing the attractiveness of the position, in the form of a substantial payment for those who make it to a high level, surely the quality of the candidate increases too. It may even be enough to bring former inter-county players to the refereeing table. The GAA, in modern times at least, has never been able to crack that one and to get top players to view refereeing as a credible option after inter-county retirement. The referees' lot has improved somewhat in recent seasons. A portion of their gym fees are paid. They receive a €250 boot voucher every second year. County refs also have access to a counsellor and a sports and exercise psychologist. But, truth be told, it still comes across as a most unattractive proposition to many. Adopting the capitalist principle that by sweetening the reward you improve the output, would be an interesting path to go down. And the better the ref, the bigger the games they get. Paid up professionals are producing stunning returns in other areas of the GAA. Like Croke Park Ltd returning record turnover for 2024 of almost €60m. An army of coaches throughout the country are paid for their valuable services too. What they all do is considered a necessity. So is the work of referees which is fundamental to the smooth running of the entire playing calendar. We recently stumbled across a column which was written in 2017 for The Longford Leader newspaper by their then columnist Mattie Fox, aghast at how little referees were both appreciated and invested in. 'The minimum paid to a referee for inter-county games should be €500 plus travel costs, plus proper food for their umpires,' he wrote. 'That's the absolute minimum. For an All-Ireland, or All-Ireland semi-finals, or provincial finals, the very minimum should be €1000, plus expenses.' It would make for an interesting and, surely, improved inter-county landscape.
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Referee standards 'one of hurling's biggest problems'
Dónal Óg Cusack has called on the GAA to show leadership on refereeing after a day of unenforced rules in the provincial hurling championships. "Hurling has never been better," said the former Cork goalkeeper on The Sunday Game. "The game is excellent but one of the biggest problems that we have in the game is the standard of refereeing. "We respect referees. Especially at club level, the games won't go ahead without referees. But it's just not good enough. "Has the day come to get some sort of technology introduced into the games to help them? "The GAA are going to have make big decisions as well. There are way bigger decisions in the game of hurling than trying to handpass the ball quickly. "The tackle is one of the biggest issues. A number of years ago when some of us were speaking about the spare hand [tackle] and all of the issues that that was going to bring, the GAA avoided trying to define it. "You would have to question them from a leadership point of view." "For some reason the referees don't seem to be applying it when it seems obvious that they should" Dónal Óg Cusack and Liam Sheedy react to the black card issue after a flashpoint in Cork v Waterford 📺 Watch #TheSundayGame live - — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 25, 2025 Cusack and former Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy questioned referee Johnny Murphy deciding not to award a penalty against Cork's Mark Coleman for denying a goal-scoring opportunity to Waterford's Stephen Bennett. Coleman wasn't even shown yellow as Waterford had a to settle for a free. Though it could be argued that the restrictive and vague framing of hurling's 'black card' rule - it can only be for a 'pull down', trip or careless use of the hurley - has led to it being rarely enforced. "We had a similar scenario in the game last week [Limerick v Cork]," said Sheedy. "I think it has to be reviewed because right now it's not being applied. "You might see it in February or March but you certainly won't see it in May or going on in the championship." Time to fix hurling's broken and ignored black-card rule (From 2022) Cusack added: "Why was it brought in? It was brought in to stop, [for] out and out goal chances, cynical fouling and professional fouling. "It was a good rule and when it came in first we saw lots of situations where we would have seen defenders taking down players [previously]. "But for some reason, referees don't seem to be applying it when it seems obvious that they should." "It's something like you'd see in the French Revolution... I can't understand how the umpires didn't see that" Dónal Óg Cusack and Liam Sheedy look back on some of the challenges from Galway v Dublin 📺 Watch #TheSundayGame live - — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 25, 2025 The panel also agreed that three red cards had been missed in Galway's win over Dublin. Óg Cusack questioned why the umpires had not alerted Colm Lyons to Galway keeper Darach Fahy swiping at AJ Murphy off the ball. "We've said it on numerous occasions. There is a duty on the umpires to be calling the referees. "There's a duty on the tackler [Daithi Burke on Conor Burke] in those situations to be careful. A shoulder to the chest could go seriously wrong for a player. "The last one [Conor Donohue's pull across the neck of John Fleming] is something that would have been happening in the Bastille [the guillotine]. I can't understand how the umpires didn't see that.
Irish Daily Mirror
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
RTE pundit Dónal Óg Cusack taunted by Limerick fans after win over Cork
Limerick fans couldn't resist taunting Dónal Óg Cusack as the former Cork player spoke live on TV following the Treaty men's win over the Rebel County. John Kiely's side ran out winners by 3-26 to 1-26 at the TUS Gaelic Grounds on a sun-soaked Sunday afternoon - and Cusack was full of praise for Limerick as he admitted Cork would have to take a lot of learnings from the game. He said on RTE: "The game is the game. I don't think anybody expected that Limerick would beat Cork by this amount today. "But from a Cork point of view, the worst part is over. They will just have to go back, take this beating and a lot of learnings. "There were more than small cracks became emergent there and those cracks will have a jackhammer put to them. "I think they definitely learnt their lesson in terms of how to mark key Limerick men individually. The need, when Cork get chances, that they need to put them away. There is a long season ahead. "It has to be said from a Cork point of view, this Limerick we ever seen a better team? "What a machine they were today. So well engineered, resilient, strong, every part working and up for the fight everywhere." As Limerick fans started jeering the three-time All-Ireland winner, he responded by saying: "There is a long year yet, folks."
Irish Daily Mirror
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
GAA hurling great lashes poor scheduling with one SHC game on this weekend
Dónal Óg Cusack has questioned whether the GAA are trying to smother hurling as he criticised the condensed scheduling of the championship. The former Cork great is unhappy with the lop-sided nature of the hurling calendar at such a vital time of the year in terms of exposure. After a glut of fixtures over the opening three rounds of the Munster and Leinster championships, the only game taking place this weekend is the Munster clash between Waterford and Limerick at Walsh Park on Saturday evening. The game won't be broadcast live on TV but will be shown on the GAA's streaming service, GAA+. "I've said it before and I'll keep saying it, the season is too short and the schedule makes little sense," Cusack told RTÉ. "There aren't many games in the whole season, yet we had five games in each of the first two weekends and then just one game this weekend. "Play it on a Saturday and then you have to pay the GAA cash to view it on their channel. Are we trying to promote hurling or smother it? "There's no Joe McDonagh Cup action. Surely it would be a weekend to showcase this because it could do with some help. It's the eighth staging of the competition. The idea is a good one, but the teams who reach that level desperately need support from Croke Park if they're to push on. "Reaching this level should release funds and personnel for those involved. Of the six teams competing this year, Kildare are in the competition for the third time. "Everybody else has been present for five or six years, outside of Kerry, who've been a permanent fixture for all eight seasons. The Joe McDonagh is looking more like a destination than part of a journey. Hurling needs oxygen and it needs a breakout success."
RTÉ News
02-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Hurling Nation: Calendar needs work, Déise need a win
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it; the season is too short and the schedule makes little sense. There aren't many games in the whole season, yet we had five games in each of the first two weekends and then just one game this weekend. Play it on a Saturday and then you have to pay the GAA cash to view it on their channel. Are we trying to promote hurling or smother it? There's no Joe McDonagh Cup action. Surely it would be a weekend to showcase this because it could do with some help. It's the eighth staging of the competition. The idea is a good one, but the teams who reach that level desperately need support from Croke Park if they're to push on. Reaching this level should release funds and personnel for those involved. Of the six teams competing this year, Kildare are in the competition for the third time. Everybody else has been present for five or six years, outside of Kerry, who've been a permanent fixture for all eight seasons. The Joe McDonagh is looking more like a destination than part of a journey. Hurling needs oxygen and it needs a breakout success. Anyway, the microwave championship gives and the microwave championship takes. Waterford have had just six days to recover from the Clare game last Sunday, which isn't good, but they came into the Clare game fresh, which helped. They're at home in Welch Park for the second week in a row. That's an advantage, and as we know, as is dána gach madra i ndoras a thí féin (every dog is bold in his own doorway). The last time the Déise beat Limerick in championship hurling was 2011 - hard to believe. Waterford were reigning Munster champions and Limerick were at a low ebb. A fella called John Mullane scored a late goal to clinch it. Since then, Limerick have written legends and Waterford are finding it hard to get out of Munster. They haven't slipped much, but the round-robin system has fenced them in. Last week, the Déise were three points ahead starting the second half and we expected Clare to subdue them. Yet when Clare got back to within a point, Waterford kicked on and won comfortably. They looked like a team who knew what they were doing. They'll need to be just as certain against Limerick tomorrow. The Treaty's need is as great as Waterford's, that's the beauty of this competition. I'm going to be a coward and go with the data this week, and 50% of this year's Munster Championship game so far have been draws, so don't rule out another one tomorrow. Sin é a chaird. Get out to a game - if you can find one. Dónal Óg Cusack was speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland
