Kerry county board secretary fearful contempt for match officials is ‘endemic’ in GAA

Contempt for match officials has become “endemic” at all levels within the GAA, Kerry county board secretary Peter Twiss has claimed.

Writing in his report to convention, Twiss expressed concern for how referees, stewards and officials are being treated on match-days.

This “lack of respect”, he adds, has the potential to cause greater damage to the association than fixture controversies ever will.

Peter Twiss

“The problem has become endemic and appears at all levels from juvenile to senior games, involving supporters, parents, players and team mentors,” noted the Kerry secretary.

“Why this is so and what can be done about it, I don’t know, but I feel rather than expending all our energies on the high-profile [disciplinary] incidents, we need, as an organisation, to focus on finding solutions to this much more prevalent issue.

“If left go unchecked, it will do more damage to our games than problems with fixtures ever will.”

Taking aim at media coverage of the mass brawl which marred October’s county football semi-final replay between Dingle and East Kerry, Twiss described some of the commentary as “inaccurate, over the top and based wholly on hearsay”.

Video footage of the melee, which broke out during the second-half of the game at Austin Stack Park, showed Dingle selector Colm Geaney striking East Kerry forward Dara Moynihan.

Geaney was subsequently served with an eight-week suspension by the board.

Despite numerous brawls overshadowing club games in Cork, Laois, Derry and Tyrone in recent months, Twiss believes such unsavoury incidents are “rare enough” and have “diminished a lot” during the past 20 years.

“Some unsavoury incidents involving high-profile games and personnel did not serve the county well this year. The coverage of these events by the media diverged, as seems to be the norm these days, into two distinct strands.

“One being accurate, fair and informative, the other [being] inaccurate, over the top and based wholly on hearsay,” Twiss wrote. “While the above-mentioned incidents have no place in our games, their frequency is, thankfully, rare enough.”

In paying tribute to the various managements who oversaw Kerry teams in 2018, Twiss lamented how the time and effort given by these people is overlooked when silverware is not claimed.

“Being involved in team sports is wonderful but it tends to be dominated by honours won. Easily forgotten can be the sheer effort required to prepare a team and the emotional demands on mentors and their families when defeat rather than victory is the outcome. There is huge respect and admiration for people who commit to such a cause. This is not roared from the roof-tops because fair-minded people don’t feel the requirement to do that.”

The board secretary said the county was left “somewhat downbeat” by the failure of the Kerry senior footballers, following “indifferent performances” during the Supers 8s, to progress to the All-Ireland semi-final stage for the first time since 2012. “With Éamonn Fitzmaurice announcing his resignation as manager immediately after the game against Kildare, a year that promised so much ended in huge disappointment.”

Twiss described as “timely” a coaching course, for would-be adult coaches, recently drawn up by Games development administrator Mike Quirke.

“The idea behind this initiative is to give up and coming club coaches the confidence, knowledge and skill-set to take up the challenge of coaching their own senior club team. With some clubs spending a lot of money every year trying to secure the services of a senior team trainer, I feel this is a very timely and practical initiative.”

Elsewhere in his report to Monday’s convention, the secretary relayed his desire that April continues to be left for club activity in the coming years, pointing to their success in completing the county junior and football championships by the first weekend of May.

He also touched on the disappointment of Ireland’s failed bid to stage the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney having been shortlisted to be one of the host venues. “A lesson from the World Cup experience is surely the requirement of Central Government to be proactive in the development and modernisation of strategically placed sports stadiums around the country and begin engaging in a meaningful way with the likes of the GAA to ensure next time someone comes looking at our facilities, they are left in no doubt about our ability to deliver on their requirements.”