Refs fret over rules rumpus

HURLING referees are especially unhappy about what is perceived as the severity of the penalty of dismissing a player after just one yellow card in the new experimental rules.

Nevertheless, in spite of all the misgivings, there is a ready acceptance on the part of the referees that they have no choice but to implement the new rules.

A canvass of six referees - former and current - reveals a divergence of views on the principal experiments, namely the yellow card stricture and allowing the clean pick-up in football. Interestingly, only one of three football referees I spoke with raised the issue of the hand-pass, the over-use of which is an obvious concern to genuine followers of the game.

For John Bannon from Longford it's the big issue. His concern stems from a conviction that referees are not applying the relevant rule. "As referees we have failed in that. It's almost like rugby, throwing the ball to each other. Limiting players to a fist pass would bring back more kicking of the ball - and that's what spectators want to see,'' he stated. "But, it's not going to be addressed for another five years, so we're stuck with it.''

Michael Collins from Cork regrets that the sin-bin experiment was dropped, commenting: "it was working exceedingly well. It had its teething problems, but it settled down fine. The system that's there (now) 'doesn't fit the crime.' It does put pressure on referees to get it right.''

Bannon takes a different view, based on personal experience (as a fourth official) of the logistical problems in implementing it. And, he doesn't believe it would work at club level. " Cork have a motion for Congress and people think it might work. But I feel there is no need for the sin bin. In Gaelic football over the last couple of years you didn't have any major incidents of dirty or foul play, or any serious messing, if the referee implemented the rules. But I felt there was a variance between fellows letting too much go and fellows being too strict and then others in between. That's why they brought in these experimental rules.''

He also feels that more time is needed to experiment with the pick-up, explaining: "I'm afraid of players getting serious injuries because they are not protected when they are going down to get the ball. It could lead to a faster game, but could also lead to more scrums.''

Bannon has no doubt that referees are going to continue to come under a lot more pressure from sending players off after one yellow card, believing that insufficient thought was put into this particular proposal. "They changed it during the O'Byrne Cup and now they are talking about changing again. Hurling people I have talked to feel it has no hope of working. The rules as they are at the moment won't come in for the championship. The idea that 'you're gone after one yellow card' can't be the way. It would be a serious issue for teams in the championship, particularly if a 'star' player is sent off and is replaced by a player who isn't of equal standard.''

On the hurling side, all three referees I spoke with expressed the view that there was no need for rule experimentation. Willie Barrett, Dickie Murphy and Aodán MacSuibhne, who between them have taken charge of up to ten All-Ireland finals, agree that putting a player to the line after a single yellow card - in essence for two minor offences - is too severe.

"I think it's a pretty strong sanction against a player,'' said Barrett, who retired last year. "But referees have little choice but to implement the rules that are there. I welcome what's being tried, but in fairness to hurling there's not a whole wrong with the game. When they were drawing up the rules, I would have preferred if they were looked at separately. The advantage in football was that there was experimentation before the League.''

Dickie Murphy, who is returning to active refereeing after two years as a Wexford selector, is predicting difficult times ahead. "People will say that common sense will prevail, but really if referees go strictly by the rules, there will be yellow cards and that will be unfair to some teams. Fellows will be put off for something simple.''

MacSuibhne would favour a separation of rules - except he admits it's not feasible. "In an ideal world, the rules should be totally different. The one reservation I would have is that at club level the same lads are going out playing football one week and hurling the next. For that reason there has to be a certain cross-over, between disciplinary matters for instance.

"I think the majority of referees would feel that the games are passionate and that people will overstep the mark when it wouldn't merit a sending-off. They would probably prefer the system of two yellow cards before a player is sent off,'' MacSuibhne added.

"What I will most interested to see is if the skill of cutting the line ball over the bar will be more prevalent. I would hope that it will. Rewarding skill is a good thing. We're inclined to look at the negatives because that is what we have heard from the football people coming through. I would have my views on whether we need to have sendings-off in hurling, but the rules of hurling are fairly clear. There is no need to be interfering with them in any shape or form.''