Referee struck in connacht hurling final

fearruanua

Apologies- Take 2
A referee was allegedly struck by a player in the connacht hurling final on saturday. I really think the GAA need to start taking a harder line with such behaviour. From reading another website it seems the club in question were reported for inappropriate behaviour in the galway final of the competition will liitle or no sanctions being imposed.

fearruanua

http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/investigation-likely-after-referee-struck-in-hurling-final-3290982.html

Solair

I think the GAA really needs to take a much harder line on stuff like this.
If allowed to go on, there's a risk it could snowball and become much more of a problem.

There should be a culture of zero-tolerance of incidents like this from someone on the pitch or fans.

cormac halpin

Handbags.

munchkin_utd

Solair wrote: »

I think the GAA really needs to take a much harder line on stuff like this.
If allowed to go on, there's a risk it could snowball and become much more of a problem.

There should be a culture of zero-tolerance of incidents like this from someone on the pitch or fans.

if you read the rule book you will see that the most serious offence on the pitch is already striking an official.

Aside from that, IIRC there is also a guideline coming in for next year that selectors and subs must sit in the stand to reduce the number of people milling around on the sideline which is a cause of much of the recent incidents

Solair

munchkin_utd wrote: »

if you read the rule book you will see that the most serious offence on the pitch is already striking an official.

Aside from that, IIRC there is also a guideline coming in for next year that selectors and subs must sit in the stand to reduce the number of people milling around on the sideline which is a cause of much of the recent incidents

The rulebook's one thing, it's the consequences of breaking those kinds of rules that need to be pretty severe to ensure a culture of on-pitch violence does not become normal / acceptable.

I know in most cases it isn't but there are just too many of these kinds of incidents cropping up for comfort.

crusher000

They should paint a technical box outside the dugouts like in soccer that noboby is aloud out of except for the subs when warming up of course. Also at the end of the match noboby should be aloud onto the field of play.

nice_guy80

munchkin_utd wrote: »

if you read the rule book you will see that the most serious offence on the pitch is already striking an official.

Aside from that, IIRC there is also a guideline coming in for next year that selectors and subs must sit in the stand to reduce the number of people milling around on the sideline which is a cause of much of the recent incidents

most of the GAA grounds don't have a stand, or dugouts.

there are hundreds, if not thousands of GAA games played every weekend across the country.
while there are very few incidents, the few that occur are always blown out of porportion, especially by the media.

jordainius

Solair wrote: »

I think the GAA really needs to take a much harder line on stuff like this.
If allowed to go on, there's a risk it could snowball and become much more of a problem.

There should be a culture of zero-tolerance of incidents like this from someone on the pitch or fans.

This has always been a part of the GAA, the thing that has changed is that with modern media/internet/social networking and so on nothing goes unnoticed anymore. An unsavoury incident which would once upon a time have not made it beyond the local county newspaper is now national news.

That's not to defend this type of behaviour; it's simply to state that it's no worse now than it ever has been. By all means, we should strive to be better.

The GAA pretty much do have a zero-tolerance approach to this type of thing in cases where there is absolutely what happened and no doubt over the identity of the perpetrators. Is the punishment severe enough? Not always.

The GAA are an easy target here; they can't control players/mentors/fans. They can only punish individuals after something has happened. Everyone involved in games needs to take responsibility for their own actions. The fact is, when a brawl happens on the pitch, many of the spectators actually love this and egg it on. Luckily, many more are disgusted by this type of thing.

From regularly going to club games I always see a number of people at club games who to be quite frank are lunatics. They lose control and are almost foaming at the mouth and baying for blood in support of their team. The referee and opposition are only there to be abused, because their team can do no wrong. And this them v us tribal stuff can boil over and something stupid happens.

There is a wider issue of people in general just needing to take a second to calm the hell down. An annoying element about mass brawls is that something will happen between two players and before you know it 20 odd fellas who had absolutely nothing to do with the original incident give in to the red mist and they bring themselves into the thick of it.

In this instance, if the player can be identified, I'd anticipate the 96 week ban. This unfortunately will always be part of the game, if the GAA increase the sanctions for this stuff then they will only find themselves inundated with appeals and possibly even legal challenges. So it's not an easy situation for them.

I'll finish by saying; that about 90-95% of games I attend (50-60 a year) pass off without any unsavoury incidents. So it doesn't strike me as a major problem

cat in the sack

what part of Gaway are that club from lads.

antoobrien

cat in the sack wrote: »

what part of Gaway are that club from lads.

North east Galway, between Monivea & Mountbellew.

MfMan

Ref. very hard on them by all accounts, reminiscent of the Brigids / Corofin Connacht final last year.

Stinicker

The only way the GAA will get rid of this problem is to shake up refereeing and get rid of referee's who are continuously causing trouble. Also end having linesmen and umpires and cronie friends of the referee. Having blind old 70 year old men doing umpire is a joke when they can't see the ball half the time.

Take Joe McQuillan his behavior in the 2011 All-Ireland Final and this years Semi-Final were an absolute disgrace and the man should never again be left hold a whistle.

Fans won't revolt if the game is played fair and proper and when referees get attacked then they only have themselves to blame in alot of cases and they won't get any sympathy from me.

Grats

munchkin_utd wrote: »

if you read the rule book you will see that the most serious offence on the pitch is already striking an official.

Aside from that, IIRC there is also a guideline coming in for next year that selectors and subs must sit in the stand to reduce the number of people milling around on the sideline which is a cause of much of the recent incidents

At national level there have been few unsporting incidents of note involving selectors etc. In fact the vast majority behave themselves and are very sporting by not interfering with players taking lineballs or frees close to the line.
However that changed this year when it was obvious that Anthony Cunningham and his selectors wanted to win whatever it took. They very very unsporting and it is a mystery as to why Croke Park took no action. Instead, the rest of the GAA counties are going to suffer next year. Why could they not deal with Galway in the same way as they dealt with Davy Fitz.

No great surprise therefore that Gawlay have to deal with a problem they obviously condone.

Treble20

While there's no place for assaults on referees in the game it must be said the standard of refereeing is gone to an all time low IMO after following games for the last 25 years or so.

At local level in club games some of the refereeing is shocking but at Inter County level it has got very poor over the last few years with Duffy in the All Ireland football final in 2009,Sludden in the 2010 Leinster football final and McQuillan in a number of games in 2011 and 2012 making shocking decisions which were inexcusable and all 3 refs should have been dropped from refereeing for a period of time IMO.

The GAA need to upgrade their referee training program,it's all well and good gathering around 20 lads in a local hall for a few nights for a questions and answers session on refereeing and then giving them a cert saying their ready for action! Referees courses need to be more intense and new refs need to be monitored in games to see if they'll make the grade but sure I'd suppose it's all wishful thinking!

Going back to the assault on the ref the attacker needs to be Identified and banned from GAA for the longest period possible.

wonder88

Ironic that they were unhappy with the ref, heard that they got every decision in the Galway final. Swings and roundabouts etc. However it must be said that refs do have a huge influence on the outcome of GAA games because the rules are very unclear.

jordainius

Stinicker wrote: »

The only way the GAA will get rid of this problem is to shake up refereeing and get rid of referee's who are continuously causing trouble. Also end having linesmen and umpires and cronie friends of the referee. Having blind old 70 year old men doing umpire is a joke when they can't see the ball half the time.

Take Joe McQuillan his behavior in the 2011 All-Ireland Final and this years Semi-Final were an absolute disgrace and the man should never again be left hold a whistle.

Fans won't revolt if the game is played fair and proper and when referees get attacked then they only have themselves to blame in alot of cases and they won't get any sympathy from me.

What a stupid post for so many reasons, "Lets blame it all on the referee's".:rolleyes:

MfMan

Grats wrote: »

At national level there have been few unsporting incidents of note involving selectors etc. In fact the vast majority behave themselves and are very sporting by not interfering with players taking lineballs or frees close to the line.
However that changed this year when it was obvious that Anthony Cunningham and his selectors wanted to win whatever it took. They very very unsporting and it is a mystery as to why Croke Park took no action. Instead, the rest of the GAA counties are going to suffer next year. Why could they not deal with Galway in the same way as they dealt with Davy Fitz.

No great surprise therefore that Gawlay have to deal with a problem they obviously condone.

What are you going on about? Cunningham and co. in the halpenny place compared to Brian Cody for one. Managers and selectors on the line jawing at opposing players is part of GAA life, whether we like it or not.

fearruanua

Some more in the news this morning regarding this match

http://www.independent.ie/sport/hurling/connacht-defend-final-venue-after-ref-incident-3291823.html

crusher000

Move the problem into the stands ? Players will be sat in the main stands all be it together but what will stop a member of the public or a player taking offence to a comment and then all out mely in the stands. I have been to most pitches in my county and they have no segregated areas for players and mentors from the general public. Think again Mr. O'Neill. Most clubs don't have the funds to ut in segregated sections.

jaykay74

Treble20 wrote: »

While there's no place for assaults on referees in the game it must be said the standard of refereeing is gone to an all time low IMO after following games for the last 25 years or so.

Its almost as if lads don't want to be referees anymore.

keane2097

People referencing the quality of a referee's performance in a thread about a ref being assaulted at the end of a game makes me a little bit queasy to be associated with the GAA.

cormac halpin

keane2097 wrote: »

People referencing the quality of a referee's performance in a thread about a ref being assaulted at the end of a game makes me a little bit queasy to be associated with the GAA.

If thats all that makes you queasy about the GAA, you'll be grand.

keane2097

cormac halpin wrote: »

If thats all that makes you queasy about the GAA, you'll be grand.

Ha! Sadly it isn't I'm afraid but luckily the positives broadly outweigh the negatives. Doesn't make the negatives we have any less odious though.

Brain Stroking

Why do the Connacht Council have to defend their actions when it was simply caused by people acting like complete retards? Does anyone take responsibility for their own actions these days?

Talk about the venue etc is meaningless in my opinion. As someone who has played a lot of GAA over the years, i firmly believe that the cops should be able to get involved and be encouraged to get involved for all acts of assault on a pitch. Never happens (unless something truly horrific occurs) but punching people on the street is unacceptable. I see no difference in doing so on a pitch.

cat in the sack

MfMan wrote: »

Ref. very hard on them by all accounts, reminiscent of the Brigids / Corofin Connacht final last year.

so give him a few shots so that will be the answer:mad:

Brain Stroking

MfMan wrote: »

Ref. very hard on them by all accounts, reminiscent of the Brigids / Corofin Connacht final last year.

Irrelevant.

antoobrien

People can we stop with the rubbish about winning at all costs - it appears from reading today's article in the indo that the ref wasn't struck (intentionally) by anybody.

McGeeney was knocked down during a fracas that escalated when he awarded a free close to the dugouts with five minutes left.

It's known that the supporters were not at all separated from the pitch:

Due to "logistical reasons" the crowd of less than 300 were allowed to watch it from inside the perimeter fence, and their proximity to the game appears to have contributed to the flashpoint in which the referee was struck.

Also there is a comment on another site, from somebody who claims to have been at the match.

As far as i see the ref was knocked to the ground running into the melee...Why he felf the need to rush in i dont know. He wasnt knocked or "Hit" by anybody to the best of my veiw.

So unless anybody was at the game and knows the circumstances of the brawl where the ref may or may not have been struck can we leave out whatever grudges we have against refs, the counties involved and whatever else we can't to get off our chests.

We may have had a lucky escape here. Mass brawls, while rare, are not unknown to the GAA. Throwing a couple of hundred supporters into the mix in a tight match could have been a recipe for disaster.

Personally I can't understand why Prenty is trying to defined the decision to have this match at a ground that is undergoing construction.

"There is some building work being completed, so for logistical reasons the supporters were allowed inside the perimeter fence, but they were on a walkway which surrounds the pitch. It is four metres wide and is five metres from the sideline," Prenty said.

"There was nothing wrong with the location or the stewarding, the problem was with those people who stupidly chose to get involved."

MfMan

antoobrien wrote: »

People can we stop with the rubbish about winning at all costs - it appears from reading today's article in the indo that the ref wasn't struck (intentionally) by anybody.



It's known that the supporters were not at all separated from the pitch:




Also there is a comment on another site, from somebody who claims to have been at the match.



So unless anybody was at the game and knows the circumstances of the brawl where the ref may or may not have been struck can we leave out whatever grudges we have against refs, the counties involved and whatever else we can't to get off our chests.

We may have had a lucky escape here. Mass brawls, while rare, are not unknown to the GAA. Throwing a couple of hundred supporters into the mix in a tight match could have been a recipe for disaster.

Personally I can't understand why Prenty is trying to defined the decision to have this match at a ground that is undergoing construction.

It's his personal vanity project, that's why.

cormac halpin

antoobrien wrote: »

People can we stop with the rubbish about winning at all costs - it appears from reading today's article in the indo that the ref wasn't struck (intentionally) by anybody.



It's known that the supporters were not at all separated from the pitch:




Also there is a comment on another site, from somebody who claims to have been at the match.



So unless anybody was at the game and knows the circumstances of the brawl where the ref may or may not have been struck can we leave out whatever grudges we have against refs, the counties involved and whatever else we can't to get off our chests.

We may have had a lucky escape here. Mass brawls, while rare, are not unknown to the GAA. Throwing a couple of hundred supporters into the mix in a tight match could have been a recipe for disaster.

Personally I can't understand why Prenty is trying to defined the decision to have this match at a ground that is undergoing construction.

Like I said, handbags.

keane2097

The first article linked has a different take on things:

The match -- which should have been remembered as a memorable day in the history of Sligo's Calry-St Joseph's -- was marred by terrible scenes that came before the final whistle and left the referee picking himself off the ground after appearing to be struck by a player from Skehana.

The day we stop describing mass brawls instigated by teams unable to lose with dignity as "handbags" will be a good day for all concerned.

antoobrien

keane2097 wrote: »

The first article linked has a different take on things:



The day we stop describing mass brawls instigated by teams unable to lose with dignity as "handbags" will be a good day for all concerned.

The indo has a history of sensational first day headlines, but then the real story is revealed to be something totally different over the subsequent days.

keane2097

antoobrien wrote: »

The indo has a history of sensational first day headlines, but then the real story is revealed to be something totally different over the subsequent days.

Perhaps, it shouldn't take a ref getting hit for us to show an interest in putting an end to mass brawls though!

antoobrien

keane2097 wrote: »

Perhaps, it shouldn't take a ref getting hit for us to show an interest in putting an end to mass brawls though!

But the ref didn't get hit, it's a very different thing to get knocked over when attempting to stop a brawl than to get intentionally struck by somebody.

Most refs I've seen in these situations stand back so as to avoid possibility getting hurt accidentally (e.g. Brian Gavin getting an accidental blow in the head, cutting him). So instead of going off on one about an incident that didn't happen, ask what happened and why?

Some facts - the ref was knocked over about 5 minutes from the end of the match. He finished the match with no apparent injury. How - we don't know, the indo have moved from "apparently struck" to "was knocked down".

What caused the ref to be knocked over?

There was a bust up after a free was given, after which there was a booking and a red card (doesn't say what way the free went).

Prenty has stated "There was nothing wrong with the location or the stewarding, the problem was with those people who stupidly chose to get involved" - indicating there were mentors and/or fans on the pitch. As as been already stated a person who claims to have been at the match has said that the bust up started when a Skehana player was apparently struck by a supporter (presumably from the other side).

So why was a match held at a ground with free access to the pitch?

antoobrien

It's interesting to see the difference between the sensationalist rubbish the indo had and how the examiner covered it.


Referee hits deck but Raymond ensures Calry-St Joseph’s soar

The game’s ending might have been spoiled by a period of argy-bargy, that saw Mayo referee Kevin McGeene tumbled to the ground, but there was no doubting the class of Keith Raymond, who supplied 1-9 of the winners’ tally including the winning point in injury-time.

munchkin_utd

munchkin_utd wrote: »

if you read the rule book you will see that the most serious offence on the pitch is already striking an official.

Aside from that, IIRC there is also a guideline coming in for next year that selectors and subs must sit in the stand to reduce the number of people milling around on the sideline which is a cause of much of the recent incidents

and indeed I was right.

From the examiner today:

GAA president Liam O’Neill has served notice of his intention to clean up the association’s image by ridding the sidelines of virtually all non-playing personnel.
Touchline altercations have been an almost permanent stain on the GAA in recent years with images and reports of violent confrontations emanating from all levels, in all codes and from allcorners of the island. <snip>

O’Neill revealed that the GAA’s Management Committee and Central Council will take the lead in drafting new regulations and intends to see them introduced next season but any such moves are likely to face resistance. <snip>

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/oneill-we-must-rid-gaa-of-white-line-fever-213935.html

cormac halpin

antoobrien wrote: »

The indo has a history of sensational first day headlines, but then the real story is revealed to be something totally different over the subsequent days.

The Indo LOVES putting the boot in on such occasions. This was a thing of nothing. The GAA will deal with it, as they have been doing very well in recent times.