Top referee McEnaney defends ‘ticking’ system

TOP referee Pat McEnaney is adamant that there’s no need to amend the current system of administering discipline on the field, where a player is shown the referee’s black book — or ticked — before receiving a yellow card.

Satisfied that the system works “quite well”, as long as it is applied correctly, he points to the absence of controversy at club level in recent weeks as an indication of its merit.

In particular, McEnaney would be opposed to a change believed to be under consideration by a sub-committee headed by Leinster chairman Liam O’Neill to abolish “ticking” and allow a player sent off after a second yellow card to be replaced.