NEWS ROUND-UP: WITH COUNTY boards increasingly appearing to mandate delegates to reject the new yellow-card rules at next week's GAA congress in Cork – echoing the stance adopted by Brian Cody, Mickey Harte and most high-profile intercounty managers – support came yesterday from referees.
“Referees would be very sad to see them go,” said referee chief PJ McGrath yesterday. “We had a meeting in Athlone last week and all of our top referees were there. There were 120 present and they voted unanimously in favour of the rules. They would like to see them passed.”
McGrath, still remembered for adjudicating the 1982 All-Ireland football final when Offaly and Séamus Darby shocked Kerry, refused to accept growing media speculation that a two-thirds majority now seems unlikely.
“I think there is still a good bit of support for them and I think when the time comes to vote they could go through.
“There are passages in the game now that last up to four and a half minutes – there was nothing like that in the two previous years, nothing went beyond two minutes.
“On several occasions we have seen fellas putting their hands out and then withdrawing the hands immediately because they know they could commit a yellow-card offence.”
In a rare opportunity to gauge the referees’ opinion, at yesterday’s Vodafone awards ceremony in Dublin, when Maurice Deegan from Laois was named football referee for 2008 while Westmeath’s Barry Kelly picked up the hurling accolade, McGrath also shed light on two other issues.
What about introducing a citing commissioner like in rugby union? “I wouldn’t see anything wrong with it. I think it would work well as long as the person was unbiased and couldn’t care less who wins and who loses.”
Okay, what about Harte’s assertion that referee Brian Crowe was black-balled for refusing to upgrade Noel O’Leary’s yellow card to red after video evidence showed him striking Graham Geraghty in 2007?
“No, there was nothing like that because I have been on the appointments committee for the past three years. Brian Crowe was off for one reason or another, but it wasn’t that reason. There was a while when he wouldn’t have been as fit as he would have wanted, he wanted a rest. He’s back now.”
Deegan also firmly backed the new playing rules, when a player is sent off for a yellow card but can be replaced, noting it made life easier for the man in the middle.
However, the same sanctions in hurling provoked a slight deviation from the party line.
“That is the mistake that is sometimes made,” said Kelly. “They are under the same association but they are very different games. Hurling-wise I haven’t found any great difficulty. Referees at all levels maybe have been guilty of not implementing the rules, whether they be new rules or old rules. That’s something we need to look at.”
What about allowing common sense to dictate a refereeing decision, when cynical actions are clearly not evident?
“They are two words we are always told never to apply at various seminars throughout he year – common sense doesn’t come into it. It is like anything else. Like a lad driving home with a few drinks in him. Common sense tells the guard if he is 50 yards from his house he is unlikely to cause an accident. From our point of view it has to be black or white. Judgment is important, maybe that’s a euphemism for common sense in a way. You must use your own judgment.”
Regarding Tuesday night’s club delegate vote in Kilkenny GAA president Nickey Brennan said: “Ironically, last night the Kilkenny County Board was split down the middle, 23 for them and 23 against so we will call that an honourable draw between myself and Brian Cody and I suppose getting a draw with Brian Cody in this day and age is a big thing.”