Well done to Murphy for criticising refereeing

I would like to compliment Frank Murphy, the secretary of the Cork County GAA board, for his comments on the refereeing in the football and hurling championships.

Indeed, referee boss, Pat McEneaney, is not happy with the comments, and said that Mr. Murphy should know better. Well, it’s about time that people like Mr Murphy stood up for the players, who give their all to their counties each year.

Firstly, the standard of football this year was poor in several games and blatant fouls were not punished, not even in the recent Munster club final.

In this year’s Mayo v Cork game, Cork were denied a late free for what looked, to me, like a leg block. A free would have given them a draw. The referee was standing beside the incident, as it unfolded, and an umpire was looking straight at it.

Yet Mr McEneaney defended the referee and stated that the standard was much higher in football now than ever.

In the 2011 final, referee Joe McQuillian handed Dublin the title in injury time after a questionable decision.

In hurling this year, the referee in the Cork v Clare game was described by Michael Babs Keating as the worst he had ever seen.

I have spent 25 years involved with refereeing, as an umpire at all levels, up to and including All Ireland finals in Croke Park, so I know a fair bit about it.

Michael Barrett

Newcastle West

Co. Limerick