Just after reading the article about young refs...was a great read and more young lads should become 1 the way the game is gone so fast and fitness is vital it's a young man's job now a days.. if the gaa could maybe try stamp out the abuse with heavier punishments I could see more lads interested and have the backing of there county that's my opinion...meath has a great background for top refs..but have we the youth

Potholes (Meath) - Posts: 8 - 07/09/2018 14:48:52    2140150

madmeath (Meath) - Posts: 44 - 08/09/2018 21:22:58    2140395

Certainly the day of a ref only working between the 2 45s (and that is being too generous to a lot of them) is gone, game is to quick for that, Need to encourage more lads to get involved but also we need to be clamping down on the abuse that is given to them, very difficult to do anything about what is said from outside the wire but some of the stuff is disgraceful, The standard of reffing causes the frustration so its is a vicious circle. The better refs get very little stick from the line

longroadback (Meath) - Posts: 300 - 10/09/2018 10:02:38    2140624

Potholes (Meath) - Posts: 8 - 10/09/2018 16:58:14    2140813

I have been a ref for the last 5/6 years... adult & underage,I walked away from it 2 months,just the abuse from spectators/mentors/parents is just getting out of hand,i used to bring my 2 kids with me,but the last straw was when I was getting into my car after the match with my kids and I was approached by a angry spectator from Team B calling me everything under the sun,
Only I had my 2 kids with me,i would have lost the plot with this spectator,so I said after that day its not for me.
I played football since I was 8 years of age, retired when I was in my early 40s,played in a few county finals,i taught with my football experience and the referee course,this might be a way of being still be involved on the pitch of play.
but the abuse just got the better of me and I think the gaa is going have to tackle the issue soon instead of ignoring it.

ghostrider (Meath) - Posts: 28 - 02/10/2018 12:33:17    2144752

Why would any one take up refereeing when you see the way they're treated. Never mind the spectators. Look at the way the co board treat them.

latouche25 (Meath) - Posts: 325 - 02/10/2018 16:02:12    2144789

Why would any one take up refereeing when you see the way they're treated. Never mind the spectators. Look at the way the co board treat them. Just ask David Gough. I suppose this won't get published either. I see the other thread was shut down.

latouche25 (Meath) - Posts: 325 - 02/10/2018 17:50:15    2144807

It is now not possible for a referee to see everything and make consistent decisions. If this was addressed it would be more practical to take up refereeing.

GAA have refused to accept VAR. The pressure on referees in Big games under the glare of TV is enormous. It would be enough responsibility to just call the decisions as instructed by VARS outside the glare of the screen.

In less high profile games, But still important. Linesmen with a stronger role are needed. They are even more vulnerable to abuse by spectators , managers ,subs,and hangers on. To avoid discouraging Linesmen stiff penalties are needed. Including stopping games and awarding result to the team not involved or neither team.

Ashrules (Dublin) - Posts: 342 - 03/10/2018 10:34:48    2144916

crosstheline (Meath) - Posts: 5 - 03/10/2018 13:53:41    2144961

Not in a million years would I become a ref, the abuse just wouldn't be worth it.

Now abuse by itself is bad enough, but what's worse is how it's just by and large accepted. Managers, players and fans will dish out horrific abuse at a ref during a match no matter how he performs, but rather than show any remorse afterwards they actually defend themselves and try to play the victim, saying they just want "consistency" and "fairness" from the referee saying they need "better training*".

For bigger games you'll get pundits/social media etc. all feeding into this cycle of abusing the referee, which reinforces managers' and players' attitudes that it's OK to abuse the referee. The only people who will explicitly defend the referee are the GAA themselves, but that defence will be at best ignored by the public and at worst inspire them to dish out more abuse against officialdom.

At the end of the day the ref is a human being doing his best, but people can't seem to appreciate that. There's no attempt to see how the ref is obliged to make dozens of decisions under pressure, each in an instant, only seen once at one (potentially obscured) angle. It's just a black and white case that the referee is bad and must be against your team.

*I always wonder when people call for more training for referees, who do they think will do this training? Is there a panel of refereeing gurus being kept hidden from public view, who are better than the refs we have now and can teach them a few things?

CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1391 - 03/10/2018 19:05:03    2145004

Crosstheline: How do you know he didn't put it in his report. How many referees reports are ignored by the CCC. It depends on the club involved.

latouche25 (Meath) - Posts: 325 - 03/10/2018 19:22:00    2145006

Analyst (Meath) - Posts: 1338 - 05/10/2018 10:37:48    2145242