Former Clare All-Ireland winning manager Ger Loughnane has insisted that National Referees Association chairman Pat McEnaney should have "nothing to do" with hurling.

Loughnane is blaming officialdom, and not referees, for the spate of red cards that have marred a spectacular 2013 hurling summer.

Loughnane said: “I don’t blame the referees but the powers that be that are doing their best to ruin one of the best championships we’ve ever had.

"John Allen (Limerick manager) had a solution, which is a perfectly reasonable solution, that there should be a separate panel of referees for hurling and football. And that the hurling referees should have their own coordinator, whatever McEnaney is.

“I think that is a perfectly sensible thing because there is no comparison between the two games, there is no comparison between refereeing the two games.

“There’s no comparison between the rules of either game and unfortunately it’s very hard to blame the referees because they’re under extreme pressure after McEnaney made that statement last year that there should be more red cards.

“McEnaney should have nothing to do with hurling referees as far as I’m concerned. It should be Dickie Murphy, Pat O’Connor from Limerick, some solid referee that you had in recent times. He should be the man that referees answer to, not McEnaney.”

Loughnane was at O’Moore Park in Portlaoise yesterday to launch a charity football match in aid of the cancer units at St Luke’s and St James’s hospitals yesterday.

Loughnane was diagnosed with leukemia in 2011 but battled the disease courageously and was given the all clear last year.

A charity match football match will take place at O’Moore Park in Portlaoise next May – and Mick O’Dwyer and Brian Cody will manage the opposing teams.

Loughnane told guests at yesterday’s launch: “It’s brilliant to be alive.”