There has been no instruction to referees to crack down on foul play, according to the PRO of the National Referees' Committee. Fr Séamus Gardiner was responding to suggestions made by Dublin manager Paul Caffrey at the weekend that the strict refereeing that brought about 20 yellow cards and four dismissals in their match with Laois on Sunday was a sign of things to come.
So has there been an instruction to referee particularly strictly?
"No," according to Fr Gardiner. "In fact the pre-season seminar isn't being held until next Thursday and there's been no specific directions issued. We did meet referees' representatives recently, but the only things discussed were nuts and bolts issues to do with the new regulations on sideline behaviour.
"Normally at the start of each year the instruction will be to implement the rules. Not all referees react to that in the same way. A newer referee may decide he has to be seen to be more strict because the assessor is up in the stands making judgments that could affect his career.
"But in the end, if people aren't happy with the rules they should change them. Once they're there they have to be implemented."
Meanwhile, tonight sees the postponed final of the O'Byrne Shield football competition in Leinster. Longford and Athlone IT meet at the Longford Slashers ground at 8pm, having defeated Kildare and Carlow, respectively, in the semi-finals.
The GAA Museum will host "An Evening with the French" on Thursday, February 8th, from 7.30pm to mark the first international rugby match between Ireland and France in Croke Park.
The event will include a talk by Prof Kevin Whelan, director of the Keough-Naughton Notre Dame Centre in Dublin, on the links between Ireland and France. Prof Whelan has published 15 books, including 1798: A Bicentenary Perspective.
Dr Philip Dine (NUI Galway) will speak about French rugby, but will also look at other sporting areas such as the record of Irish cyclists in the Tour de France. His published research includes French Rugby Football: A Cultural History, which forms part of a broader reflection on leisure and popular culture in France.
He is conducting a project on Sport and Identity in France: Practices, Locations and Representations, which is funded by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. He is also a member of the editorial board of Sport in History
To book: tickets, priced at €10 (adults) and €8 (concessions), are available to purchase from the GAA Museum, Croke Park. Early booking is advised.
Admission will include French food and wine.
•Galway footballers have got a perfect boost ahead of Sunday's opening game of the National League against Derry with Joe Bergin likely to be fit. There were fears that Bergin could be facing another lengthy spell on the sideline after injuring his left elbow in a Connacht League game last Sunday week.
