President calls for referee protection

GAA President Sean Kelly last night admitted that “the sanctity of the referee and respect for his decisions is something the Association could borrow from sports such as rugby.”

Speaking at the inaugural National Referee Awards Banquet in Dublin last night, Mr Kelly said that “Referees perform one of the most thankless jobs you can possibly imagine.”

“There is a definite challenge facing the Association with regard to the question of referees and refereeing. It is essential that we do more to acknowledge their contribution and to develop a culture where respect for the decision of the referee is paramount. We must increase our efforts at all levels to recruit and train referees. Schemes like the Young Whistlers initiative have a significant role to play.

“It is also essential that players and managers examine their attitudes to referees and their decisions. The sanctity of the referee and respect for his decisions is something we could borrow from sports such as Rugby.

“Comments made in the heat of the moment serve only to undermine the authority of the referee. Blaming the ref in the wake of defeat is similarly unhelpful and unproductive. It is unacceptable and if we continue to allow such attitudes to pertain, we will quickly find ourselves with a serious referee personnel shortage. The situation in some counties is already reaching the critical stage. It’s time for us to take a more positive stand.

“It was for these reasons that Central Council made clear its stance on the treatment of referees last July. We need to defend and protect our referees at all levels of the Association. I would take this opportunity to again remind all involved that Disciplinary Committees are now expected to take stern and swift action against those who abuse referees by words or gestures before, during or after games. Only by effecting such a policy can we begin to turn the tide in our efforts to ensure that our referees receive the respect they deserve,” the President added.

Special awards were made to Joe McQuillan (Cavan) and Brian Gavin (Offaly) as the ‘most promising’ referees in football and hurling respectively. A total of 22 referees who handled All-Ireland finals last year received presentations as did a further seventeen who have retired in the recent past.

Replying on behalf of all the recipients, Aodan MacSuibhne paid a special tribute to long-time spokesman Fr. Seamus Gardiner, who has been to the forefront of refereeing matters for the past two decades.

Wicklow duo, Eamon Moules and Jimmy Hatton along with Michael Hayes of Clare and former GAA President Dr Mick Loftus were inducted into the Hall of Fame last night.

Meanwhile the Munster Council achieved a record return from gate receipts in 2004, exceeding the e4m mark for the first time. The Council received €4.1m., compared to €3.96m in 2003.

The provincial SHC final between Waterford and Cork in Thurles produced a gate of €867,488. This exceeded the aggregate total from the drawn senior football final between Kerry and Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds (€368,889) and the replay in Fitzgerald Stadium (€438,556).

Total income for the past year was €5.83m., with expenditure amounting to €5.7m. - a surplus of €130,000.

Secretary Simon Moroney, who succeeded Donie Nealon describes this in his first report as ‘an excellent performance.’

Mr Moroney writes that a fully automated ticketing system for all of the Association’s major games is a priority. With such a system currently being examined in Croke Park, he points out that it would allow a computerised allocation of tickets at Central Council and provincial level and the electronic transfer to the provinces and counties.

On the games front, he states that the standard in all of their competitions (which produced a hundred fixtures) was ‘high.’ In a reference to the new junior and intermediate club competitions, he admitted concern that second teams from clubs who win their particular junior or intermediate county titles are excluded from participating in the championships.

Mr Moroney paid a special tribute to outgoing PRO Fr. Seamus Gardiner, who was elected to this position in 1978. Treasurer Dan Hoare bows out after completing a three-year term. Clare delegate Ger Hickey, who was a candidate for three years ago, has been nominated for the Treasurership, along with former Cork Chairman Brian Barrett - who was nominated for the position of Secretary 28 years ago when Donie Nealon was elected. There are three candidates for the position of PRO, current Cork Chairman Jim Forbes, the Kerry PRO Willie O’Connor and the former Tipperary PRO Liz Howard.