Abuse of Referees

MacDanger

Something like a close relation of his being involved in the team / management of the other club might be a reasonable basis to want a change of ref. Or say a video of the ref saying something about the club involved e.g. "Those c*nts Kilcoo will never win another county final while I'm a ref"

MacDanger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121250205#Comment_121250205

Ah jaysus, no way should they have appealed based on that. Anyone can make a mistake like that.

evolvingtipperary101

Drama as the sidelines erupted. With the clock in the red Carnew made one last attack to try and clinch this game but a shot from Maebh Molloy was half blocked by Nia Winterbottom and as both teams battled for possession a free out was awarded, much to the grievance of the Carnew management.

What was a tremendous game of football was tarnished when, with seconds remaining, referee Terry Kavanagh called an end to the game due to some verbals.

This is not something we want to see and not the way the game needed to end, but both teams will have to go and do it all again to decide who will come out on top.

Referee abandons U14 ‘A’ football final between Tinahely and Carnew Emmets late on (msn.com)

downthemiddle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121250703#Comment_121250703

I don't know the ins and outs of this game and normally I would defend referees. However this individual would not be refereeing county finals if not for their connections with the county board.

Give respect, get respect should be a two way street. I am not justifying abuse that he clearly received but I wouldn't justify a referee abusing players either.

evolvingtipperary101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121250753#Comment_121250753

He abused the kids?

downthemiddle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121251090#Comment_121251090

He has verbally abused players during games.

evolvingtipperary101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121251778#Comment_121251778

Do have a report on that?

Leroy42

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121251778#Comment_121251778

He was abused during the game due to his, alleged, previous actions?

greenspurs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121251778#Comment_121251778

How is Carnew ?

🙄

downthemiddle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121252860#Comment_121252860

Carnew is a kip and I wouldn’t want to be associated with some of the behaviour their club has been involved in.

However that doesn’t detract from the fact that not every referee behaves in a respectful manner.

brokenbad

You are right...Carnew is a kip.

Gusser09

Some of the comments on this thread highlight the fact why we have huge issues within the GAA when it comes to abuse of referees. Have a look at the Ruggers at the weekend. 2 NZ players yellowed. 1 SA player yellowed. The obediently left the field without so much as whimper.

That's how it should work. Until it becomes taboo to verbally criticise a referee or abuse them it will be acceptable for certain clubs to behave the way they do. And make no mistake about it. It follows certain clubs like a bad smell.

Leroy42

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121253144#Comment_121253144

You seem to be suggesting that this referee acted in a disrespectful manner in the past and therefore any abuse is legitimate.

windy shepard henderson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121253249#Comment_121253249

Problem number 1 is the vast number of supporters don't know the rules, or how the referees interpretation works , one referee will differ from the next but will usually be consistent to how he always interprets the game

Problem number 2 is the Sunday game, they constantly ignore this in there criticism , they never highlight this, and if I was a betting man I would suggest that they have very little knowledge of how most referees call a game

Gusser09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121253595#Comment_121253595

Sunday Game hurling highlights and hurling panelists are definitely a problem. The rule book doesn't come into at all with them.

evolvingtipperary101

A referee pod might actually do well. There won't be any shortage of things to talk about anyway

greenspurs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121253659#Comment_121253659

No active refs would be 'allowed' do it though ...

Gusser09

I don't think a pod is a good idea. Referees get multiple decisions wrong in a game. We just need to accept that. Some people can't accept that. A pod won't improve anything in my opinion.

evolvingtipperary101

i think a pod will help humanize refs and help people better understand the game. If someone like Keenan had a pod now and could talk through decisions in an objective way it would only help. I think Barry Kelly is good anytime he is on the GAA pod.

dxhound2005

With the shortage of referees available to referee games, I can't see where they will get the time to go to meetings. And they are probably the sort who volunteer for other activities as well such as training underage.

Was the Girls Under 14 A Final such a prestigious gig that connections with the County Board were called on to get it? Wicklow is no different than other counties with the shortage. Any such meetings would probably be mostly an exchange of stories about the latest vile abuse they suffered from the players and the sidelines.

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklow/sport/gaa/referee-shortage-in-wicklow-gaa-is-absolutely-diabolical/42342437.html

Lost Ormond

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121253833#Comment_121253833

ref meetings are also chances for refs to meet and have a stronger link as ultimately theyre a club themselves. The meetings arent going to be compulsarqy and many would attend if it helped them on the pitch.

blackwhite

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121253249#Comment_121253249

Played football from childhood to early 30s. When I finished with football I took up rugby as a more "social" sport to play. Playing football I'd say I was hated by every ref in my county - constantly shouting, giving out, complaining about every decision against the team. Looking back now it's embarrassing to think what I was like.

Playing rugby, I knew from the get-go that if I carried on like that 1) it wouldn't be tolerated by my teammates or club, and 2) that the refs wouldn't stand for it and that I'd likely find myself on the sideline fairly sharpish, and then in front of a disciplinary hearing fairly quickly afterwards. I'm now on some of the committees in my rugby club, and I can see the sanctions that come from Branch to clubs if there are instances of player OR sideline abuse towards referees (including abuse from supporters/parents) - teams losing home advantage for games being a common punishment, with escalation to other teams within the club also losing home advantage if there were subsequent offences.

On the flipside of this - I do notice that rugby referees are much more willing to engage with players to explain their decisions (probably due to knowing that the engagement is going to be relatively respectful). GAA referees, in my experience, were rarely willing to elaborate or explain on anything once the whistle was (or wasn't!) blown - but it's hard to say whether that is a consequence of the confrontational relationship between players and referees or a contributing factor to it.

IMO, behaviour towards referees will only change when the GAA gets serious about tackling it.

Referees need to be given a strict mandate to clamp down on dissent from players and abuse from the sideline, and they need to be supported strongly by their county boards, provincial boards and the GAA centrally. It would take some adjustment in attitudes, but once teams realise that there will be serious consequences to referee abuse then they'll shift very quickly towards trying to stamp it out amongst their own players and supporters.

dxhound2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121254059#Comment_121254059

Going on the story from Wicklow (no club put forward a new referee candidate), then it will be the same volunteers being asked to give up even more of their time.

Lost Ormond

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121254599#Comment_121254599

And? This is something that helps both existing refs and new refs. can help people who may want to start reffing and need more assistance to become a better referee which is only a good thing

evolvingtipperary101

Ref pushed after the final whistle by a fan in Tullamore today.

https://x.com/TheGAARoom/status/1716100113964114050?s=20

fullstop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121271918#Comment_121271918

What a tramp, and they’re on camera for all to see. But yet again it’ll be swept under the carpet by the GAA.

windy shepard henderson

apparently he's a member of the panel that was out injured , it just amplifies that most players and supporters dont know the rules of the game ,

summerhill player was penalised for lying on the ball inside the 13 yard box , which meant it was a 13 meter free . referee panicked and gave a penalty but changed his decision after consulting his linesman , it would only be a penalty if the foul happened inside the 6 yard box

tullamore went mad after the game and the referee had to be escorted , hopefully tullamore will be heavily punished as the person responsible for the push

rpurfield

The reaction to the videos from yesterday online sum up what is wrong around the GAA when it comes to abuse of referees. Comments such as he dived, making himself the centre of attention etc. Making a joke of it only encourages this sort of stuff. Takes a bit of bottle to correct a mistake like that in those circumstances, and at least it was done. As Windy says it shows how few people know the rules of the game.

Tombo2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121272060#Comment_121272060

Ah no, I'm sure they will do a report into the incident 🙄

PARlance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121272806#Comment_121272806

Agree 100% that the club and person should be heavily punished but I don’t agree with your deflection away from the referee in this instance, Windy.

The referee's lack of knowledge of the rules escalated this way more than it should ever have been. A referee should know the rules of the game. Saying he panicked is a bit of a cop out imo. The linesman seems to have had to correct him on the application of the rule.

Just to be clear, I'm not condoning the way he was treated in the slightest and the big issue is that clubs and people involved aren't getting punished enough, a referee should never be abused, but on the other hand, a referee has to know the rules.