As the success of the All-Ireland football qualifiers dominates the landscape, other less towering accomplishments haven't attracted too much attention. It might be perverse after a weekend of controversy to commend the standard of officiating in this year's championship but many people involved accept that there has been a visible improvement in the refereeing of matches and the imposition of order has benefited.

Events in Pβirc U∅ Chaoimh might seem an odd starting point for such upbeat contemplation but the Munster final was the exception highlighting the rule. The past two months have been considerably lighter on controversy than recent years. Not surprisingly this hasn't come about by chance but represents progress based on improvements to the system producing and monitoring match officials.

Reforms have also been effected in other areas of match administration and greater efficiencies have resulted. The time-keeping measures introduced for this year's championship have stabilised what used to be a very volatile practice. Results are plain to see. So far this year there have been three replays in the championships, all in the football - Fermanagh-Donegal, Carlow-Wicklow and Wexford-Westmeath.

Given the additional matches from the qualifier series, this means that the draw rate is running at roughly a third of what it was during last year's championships - four per cent as opposed to 13. Maybe an even more significant indicator is the steep rise in one-point victories in championship matches. The qualifiers have been omitted from this calculation because in the parallel competition extra-time is prescribed for any matches level after 70 minutes and the clean slate of a replay is not an option.

By this stage of last year's championship there were only three victories on the minimum margin. This year there have been 10. Whether it's the availability of the second chance, the improved time-keeping arrangements or whatever, the traditional reluctance to allow a team win by a point has evidently receded.

There has also been something of a personnel shake-up in the refereeing pool. The provincial finals of the past two weeks have seen debutants at this level in charge of three of the matches. This is a necessary recognition of the need to expand the top-class refereeing panel.

Training, monitoring and discussion amongst inter-county referees have concentrated on establishing a consistency of performance that, if not yet achieved, is at least being prioritised. A battery of video aids and other preparatory aids has been aimed at all match officials. Questions about the future of the umpiring system are, however, inevitable. Allowing the four local lads who have been with a referee since he started continue to man the posts up to All-Ireland level if necessary is flawed. Already this season one big-match referee has been badly let down by umpire's advice and a centralised appointment procedure is only a matter of time.

Off the field, procedures have been streamlined to expedite disciplinary hearings and there has been a consistent suspension policy from the Games Administration Committee, now charged with responsibility for all championship matches. This has eliminated uncertainty about the committee-room consequences of foul play.

Yet, there's always room for improvement and Sunday's Munster football final raised a number of issues that still need to be addressed. The Munster final was, compared to Leinster's, far less likely to cause problems.

Referee Brendan Gorman from Armagh has been highly thought of for a while and should have refereed the corresponding match last year but hurt his back in the week before the Killarney semi-final. Consequently, Michael Curley took charge of the match, which also ended in recrimination from Cork and misbehaviour on the sideline by Cork manager Larry Tompkins.

But back to Pβirc U∅ Chaoimh. Gorman came into the match with a good showing in the Meath-Kildare semi-final under his belt but didn't do well on Sunday. Cork's complaints included a number of harsh frees awarded against them in the danger zone. Video review supports their grievances. Such a situation doesn't excuse loss of discipline but it does set it in context.

Nonetheless, Cork manager Larry Tompkins has become too prone to losing his composure on the sideline. Last year in Killarney after he had been ordered from the line, it took Philip Clifford the young team captain to persuade him to comply with the referee's instructions. After the match he was intensely critical of Curley and earned himself a four-month suspension from the GAC.

Last Sunday, Tompkins was again highly agitated on the line and at one stage had an altercation with a Kerry player. Again he was critical of the match referee. Such incidents highlight the wisdom of an initiative announced earlier this year. This proposes to have a manager's box or cage in the stand of big matches so that team officials' access to the pitch can be restricted. The tradition of allowing managers to prowl the sideline has added greatly to the potential for disciplinary problems at matches.

Cork however had good reason to be dismayed by one incident. In the second half when Darragh ╙ SΘ is seen to strike at Micheal O'Sullivan the offence goes unpunished and play goes on. Donal Daly scores a point for Kerry before Gorman consults with his linesman and shows ╙ SΘ a yellow card. This is a syndrome as baffling as it is common. Either the offence was seen, in which case the correct sanction is a red card. Or it wasn't, in which case action can't be taken. The middle option is unacceptable and resulted in Cork being penalised for a Kerry transgression more than Kerry were. What aggravates this tendency is the precedent adopted by GAC last year in the Diarmuid O'Sullivan case.

This provides that a player committing a red-card offence is basically fire-proofed against appropriate disciplinary action if a referee shows him yellow. In that situation last year it was decided that O'Sullivan had already been dealt with by the match referee and that no further action was necessary.

As a result, ╙ SΘ is likely to get off scot-free.